An enthralling tale of love and courage that weaves through the mountains of Syria, the valleys of Lebanon, the encircling seas of Turkey, the heat of Egypt and finally, to the hope of a new home in Canada.
The Clothesline Swing tells the epic story of two lovers anchored to the memory of a dying Syria. One is Hakawati, the 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.
Praise
A remarkable read. Danny Ramadan opens a world for his readers and guides them through it with sensitivity and suspense.’
—Bernhard Schlink, author of #1 New York Times-bestseller The Reader
‘In The Clothesline Swing, Ramadan has gifted his readers with a resistance manifesto coded with love… possesses the silk-textures of early Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Michael Ondaatje.’
—Diriye Osman, winner of the 2014 Polari First Book Prize
‘By turns sombre, fantastical, violent and tender, Ahmad Danny Ramadan’s English-language debut is a gay son’s conflicted love letter to Syria.’
—The Globe and Mail