by Ahmad Danny Ramadan
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2017
256 pages
Genre: Short Stories
Publication Information
The Clothesline Swing is a journey through the troublesome aftermath of the Arab Spring.
Inspired by Arabian Tales of One Thousand and One Nights, The Clothesline Swing tells the epic story of two lovers anchored to the memory of a dying Syria. One is a Hakawati, a storyteller, keeping life in forward motion by relaying remembered fables to his dying partner. Each night he weaves stories of his childhood in Damascus, of the cruelty he has endured for his sexuality, of leaving home, of war, of his fated meeting with his lover. Meanwhile Death himself, in his dark cloak, shares the house with the two men, eavesdropping on their secrets as he awaits their final undoing.
A former Syrian refugee himself, Ramadan unveils an enthralling tale of courage that weaves through the mountains of Syria, the valleys of Lebanon, the encircling seas of Turkey, the heat of Egypt and finally, the hope of a new home in Canada.
"Starred Review. While each story is autonomous, Ramadan's delicate use of imagery links these narratives, allowing them to reverberate with meaning and emotion." - Publishers Weekly
This information about The Clothesline Swing was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ahmad Danny Ramadan is an experienced journalist with bylines in the Washington Post, The Guardian and Foreign Policy. His history of working with organizations in the Middle East as well as his personal experience as a Syrian refugee have made Ramadan passionate about volunteerism, democracy, social justice and LGBTQ refugees' rights. He is currently the Community Outreach Coordinator of QMUNITY, British Columbia's Queer Resource Centre. He was also the Grand Marshal for Vancouver's Gay Pride Parade 2016. He has previously authored two collections of short stories in Arabic. The Clothesline Swing is his first novel in English. He lives in Vancouver, BC.
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