{"title":"Nihad Sirees","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the compelling works of Nihad Sirees, a powerful voice in contemporary Syrian literature. His novels offer profound insights into life under authoritarian rule, blending dark humour with poignant observations. Browse his thought-provoking books.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"silence-and-the-roar-book-nihad-sirees-9781908968296","title":"The Silence and the Roar","description":"With The Silence and the Roar, Nihad Sirees writes a powerful, life-affirming and Kafkaesque novel about a censored writer trying to live a normal life under a Middle Eastern dictatorship, Syria.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49523447857425,"sku":"GOR004755976","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50486247588113,"sku":"CIN190896829XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51605146501393,"sku":"GOR005232246","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/190896829X.jpg?v=1751428104"},{"product_id":"states-of-passion-book-nihad-sirees-9781782273479","title":"States of Passion","description":"A hapless Aleppo bureaucrat is stranded in the middle of the deserted countryside as a violent storm sets in. When he seeks refuge in an isolated old mansion, inhabited by an aged gentleman and his sinister servant, he begins to uncover a captivating tale of family secrets, lost passions, and shady dealings.  He is transported by these stories to Aleppo's golden age - a time of art, music, wealth and laughter - and the all-female society of the banat al-ishreh, a society of women who live, love, and perform song and dance together. And as he gradually realises how these entanglements of love and passion, cruelty and resentment, stretch across the generations, he discovers that his own life is also in danger.  Sirees spins astonishing literary beauty out of this tangled web of family secrets, and he writes with great humour and warmth about the conflict between past and present in this surprising and unique novel about a lost world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49533778297105,"sku":"GOR009279261","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49736891629841,"sku":"NGR9781782273479","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50401259356433,"sku":"CIN1782273476VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1782273476.jpg?v=1777628509"},{"product_id":"al-samt-wa-al-sakhab-book-nihad-sirees-9781647122355","title":"Al-Samt wa-al-Sakhab","description":"The first annotated edition of Syrian writer Nihad Sirees's The Silence and the Roar, created for the Arabic language classroom  Al-Samt wa-al-Sakhab (The Silence and the Roar) is an award-winning novella by Syrian author Nihad Sirees. This edition—abridged and in the original Arabic with vocabulary aids, reading questions, and supplementary materials—introduces intermediate and advanced Arabic language students to the world of contemporary Arab literature.  In Al-Samt wa-al-Sakhab, Sirees weaves an Orwellian tale of freedom, love, and resistance amid a backdrop of bureaucracy and despotism. Fathi Sheen is a writer living in an unnamed Middle Eastern country whose work has been silenced by the ruling government and its despotic leader. On the twentieth anniversary of the regime, Fathi decides to leave the roar of the parade snaking its way through the city and visit his mother and his girlfriend, but when he stops to help a student being beaten by the police, his ID is confiscated. With no choice but to report to the police station, Fathi fights to stay sane against the oppressive—and increasingly absurd—state bureaucracy. This political satire, originally published in 2004 but no less relevant to our times, shows how to remain free even in captivity.  In this abridged and annotated edition for the Arabic language classroom, editor Hanadi Al-Samman includes a historical and cultural preface in Arabic, a biography of Sirees, footnotes for vocabulary aid, and pre- and postreading questions and activities to guide students through the book's literary concepts and to teach literary analysis skills. An interview with Sirees and excerpt readings in his voice are available on the publisher's website. Authorized by Sirees, this edition preserves the author's original style while making the novella easy to use in the classroom or to read independently.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49741185843473,"sku":"NGR9781647122355","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52530449809681,"sku":"NLS9781647122355","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/164712235X.jpg?v=1751376374"},{"product_id":"silence-and-the-roar-book-nihad-sirees-9781590516454","title":"The Silence and the Roar","description":"\u003cb\u003eAvailable in English for the first time, \u003ci\u003eThe Silence and the Roar\u003c\/i\u003e is a funny, sexy, dystopian novel about the struggle of an individual over tyranny.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Silence and the Roar\u003c\/i\u003e follows a day in the life of Fathi Sheen, an author banned from publishing because he refuses to write propaganda for the ruling government. The entire populace has mobilized to celebrate the twenty-year anniversary of the reigning despot in this unnamed Middle eastern country. The heat is oppressive and loudspeakers blare as an endless parade takes over the streets. Desperate to get away from the noise and the zombie-like masses, Fathi leaves his house to visit his mother and his girlfriend, but en route stops to help a student who is being beaten by the police. Fathi's iD papers are confiscated and he is told to report to the police station before night falls. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e When Fathi turns himself in, he is led from one department to another in an ever-widening bureaucratic labyrinth. His only weapon against the irrationality of the government employees is his sense of irony. Tinged with a Kafkaesque sense of the absurd, \u003ci\u003eThe Silence and the Roar\u003c\/i\u003e explores what it means to be truly free in mind and body.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50128245358865,"sku":"CIN1590516451G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51038179459345,"sku":"NIN9781590516454","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1590516451.jpg?v=1750830467"},{"product_id":"silence-and-the-roar-book-nihad-sirees-9781805333104","title":"The Silence and the Roar","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A small dystopian treasure' \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Beautiful, funny, and life-affirming' \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn an unnamed Middle Eastern city, Fathi, a writer no longer permitted to write, makes his way through a crowd chanting in support of the Leader. Stifled by heat and noise, bullied by the party faithful, Fathi presses on, determined to visit his girlfriend. But over the course of the day it becomes clear the regime has plans for him - and soon he'll be forced to make a terrible choice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis startlingly funny, urgent novel asks what it means to have a conscience, to laugh, and to endure amidst the roar of tyranny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTranslated by Max Weiss.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNihad Sirees was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1950. After training and working as an engineer, he became an acclaimed novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Finding himself under increasing surveillance and pressure from the Syrian government, in 2012 he left for Egypt and now lives and works in exile.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMax Weiss is a faculty member at Princeton University, specializing in the culture and history of the Middle East, and an award-winning translator of contemporary Arabic literature.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53561085165841,"sku":"GOR014961111","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781805333104.jpg?v=1778798540"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-nihad-sirees.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}