In the StoryThe Country Without War
Nadim describes a Syria where the war never happened. The man questioning him recognizes the details. In Hamburg, Nadim Darwish must recount a life that does not fit the accepted history. The places are familiar, the dates diverge, and his memories refuse to fit the available categories. His account could pass for invention—if parts of it did not also disturb the man listening.
Open the novel ↗A moment in the opening pages
She had printed the map at work, on a sheet too large for the printer at home, and its folds formed pale ridges between Homs, Damascus, and the Turkish border. Beside it, the blue Bundesamt folder had already absorbed a coffee stain. Rasha was irritated every time she saw it. Nadim thought it looked like an island.Read the excerpt ↗