Death Is Hard Work
-
-
2.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- £5.49
-
- £5.49
Publisher Description
"Searing . . . Khalifa is a soulful and perfectly unsentimental writer . . . The most amazing thing about this book is that it managed to exist, that it came to us out of the fire with its pages intact." Hisham Matar, Guardian
Death Is Hard Work is a tale of three people embarking on an absurd quest - an unforgettable journey into a contemporary heart of darkness.
At a hospital in Damascus, Syria, Abdel Latif's final wish is to be buried in the family plot near Aleppo - just a two-hour drive away. Bolbol, his youngest son, persuades his estranged brother and sister to accompany him and their father's body to the ancestral village. But Syria is a war zone, and the trials that confront the family on their journey will have enormous consequences for them all.
A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE SAIF GHOBASH BANIPAL PRIZE
A FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS IN TRANSLATED LITERATURE
A FINALIST FOR THE PREMIO GREGOR VON REZZORI AWARD
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Khalifa's novel compellingly tackles the strain of responsibility felt by a man in war-torn Syria. After his father, Abdel Latif, dies in hospital, 40-something Bolbol gathers his estranged siblings Hussein and Fatima and, with the corpse in the back of Hussein's minibus, sets off from Damascus to honor Abdel's deathbed wish to be buried alongside his sister in the village of Anabiya. Though the distance is short, the quartet's quest is frequently interrupted by violence and corrupt military checkpoints, forcing the journey to stretch over days, during which time Abdel's body bloats beneath its burial shroud. Khalifa (No Knives in the Kitchens of This City) punctuates repetitious roadblocks with segues detailing the histories of all four characters. For example, after taking refuge at the home of a former girlfriend, Bolbol reminisces about his father's own pursuits of an old flame; and later, Hussein's teenage abandonment of his parents and siblings crops up while their adult counterparts contemplate the purpose of fulfilling Abdel's request. The narrative choice to summarize conversation indirectly, rather than placing the dialogue directly on the page, might distract some readers. Nonetheless, the novel is at times harrowing the family flees wild dogs and faces masked guards and serves as a reminder of the devastation of war and the power of integrity.
