Alternative timeline stories are so intriguing, so I was curious about Khoury's imagining of what present day Europe would look like if the Ottoman Empire had won. This excerpt bounces quickly between different time periods and was somewhat confusing, introducing a variety of characters. I'm curious whether the rest of the book will focus on present day or continue to alternate. Of the characters, I found Kamal and Nisreen the most interesting. Regarding the cover, there's something about it mostly grey that makes it unlikely to pick it up if I saw it at a bookstore.