This brilliant debut by Aber follows Nila, a young woman born in Germany to Afghan parents who has spent her adolescence disappointing her family. Now, against the backdrop of Berlin's epic clubbing scene, Nila meets Marlowe, an American writer who opens her eyes to artistic freedom. A beautiful coming-of-age story about identity and self-discovery

ELLE, The Cult Books We Can't Wait To Read In 2025

A must-read … This powerful debut plunges the reader into a raging battle between a young Afghan woman's cultural identity and desire for freedom … Dark, breathtaking, profound, so fresh … Nila shines in her wildness, in her yearning for beauty and freedom

GUARDIAN

Aber touches the heart of a young woman struggling to find herself in the heat of clashing cultures ... You'll be immediately arrested by the haunting beauty of her work and the way desire pushes against the seams of despair

WASHINGTON POST

Impressive … At heart, the novel is about the allure of freedom and the estrangement from others that is the cost of both exile and artistic creation … Aber writes with the masterful precision of an archivist … Exile, migration, displacement: These will splinter even the most solid self. But out of the shards, it is possible to make art, as Nila finally realizes – and as Aber has done in this touching novel

THE ATLANTIC

Captures the ache of Muslim girlhood and the vertigo of never feeling quite at home ... Aber ingests the millennial playbook and spits out something that happens to be more interesting

VULTURE

This book transported us into the underground world of Berlin club culture, on a wild ride of youth, excess and self-discovery

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