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The Road from Damascus (Paperback)

by Robin Yassin-Kassab (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
RRP: £8.99
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  • This item: The Road from Damascus by Robin Yassin-Kassab

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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin (30 April 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141035641
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141035642
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 110,852 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Review

'A novel so packed with ideas it threatens at times to explode ... One of the author's gifts, and he has many, is to give us characters, who, even at their most wilfully one-dimensional, are believable and, at times, funny' Independent 'A fantastically enjoyable, wise and intelligent novel that grows in the telling and should cause the most feted of literary stars to sit up and take notice' Big Issue 'A rambunctious and daring novel, with scattered comedy amid the drama' Metro


Product Description

It is summer 2001 and Sami Traifi is struggling. His PhD seems to be slipping ever further from his grasp, and a recent trip home to Damascus has thrown up some disturbing family secrets. On top of all this, his wife Muntaha has just announced that she is taking up the hijab, at a time when he couldn't feel more distant from faith, religion, and from having any answers for any of the big questions. Furious with Muntaha, he finds himself embarking on a spontaneous quest for meaning and fulfillment, but all too soon his search spirals into a hedonistic rampage and threatens to destroy everything that he has . . .
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking and boldly original novel, 16 Aug 2009
'The Road from Damascus' is a well-written and very enjoyable novel. It is about Sami Traifi, a struggling PhD student who was born in Britain to Syrian parents. The story is set in the summer of 2001 when Sami has just returned from a month's trip to Syria in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to find his roots. Upon his return to London he finds that his wife Muntaha has begun wearing the Muslim headscarf (hijab) as an expression of her newly found spirituality. Sami, a staunch secularist, is outraged. In a state of frustration and uncertainty, he embarks on a journey of drinking and drugs,which ultimately lands him in a police lock-up for the night. Having reached a state of mental and physical exhaustion, he then begins to find some answers to the questions that have been troubling him for so long.

The novel is an entertaining and often moving tale of Sami's relationships with his wife and others close to him, and through these relationships much bigger themes are explored: secularism and religion, modernity and tradition, love and loyalty. For the reader with limited exposure to Arab and Muslim society, the novel offers a refreshing take on the complexity of culture, identity, race, and religion in a globalising world. Indeed, the novel takes a daring, and timely, approach to issues which are often framed in the western media within the narrow paradigm of a "clash of civilisations".

The depth and breadth of the issues dealt with do not make light reading. However, the novel is entertaining and in parts very funny, and I found it difficult to put down. The story is told in a style which is engaging, employing beautiful turns of phrase, at times capturing the flavour of its setting with the language of the London streets. Overall, 'The Road from Damascus' is boldly original, in parts challenging, and an excellent read. I highly recommend it.
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