Take What You Can Carry is a historical fiction novel, set during the late 1970s, mostly in Iraq. It focuses on the attacks against the Kurds. Sadly, I don't have much of a background with regards to that which, as a result, made part of the storyline a bit confusing.
Olivia is dating Delan. She encourages him to go home to Iraq when his cousin is getting married = and to bring her along. Delan has misgivings but Olivia has something to prove to herself, or at least she thinks she has something to prove to herself, so each time he expresses reservation, she pushes him a little bit more.
Neither Olivia nor Delan has had an easy life. Olivia lost her mother tragically at an early age. Delan has left his family behind in a world of danger, where he has to talk in code to his parents on the telephone because the phone lines are being bugged. It's one thing to move away with family. But I can't imagine moving away from family and not having the ability to communicate freely with them. At times, Olivia wonders if they can really be together since they cannot fully understand what the other has gone through in life. I found that an interesting concept to ponder.
A secondary storyline is that of Olivia's situation at work. She's a secretary at a newspaper but an she's also an aspiring photographer. She also feels she has something to prove with her photography.
At a few points during my reading, I considered dropping the book. I just wasn't sure where it was heading. Even when I felt that way, though I did care to find out where it was heading. I stuck with it and was rewarded in the end. The last third of the novel was my favorite part.
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