‘Ghaith Abdul-Ahad is a journalistic marvel and a terrible joy as a writer, never wearying of the world as he maps its cruelties. What comes to the fore is the effect on the ground: the human cost, the shifting allegiances, the generational change. From the American invasion to the Arab Spring, ISIS and beyond, A Stranger in Your Own City offers a remarkable de-centring of the West in the history and contemporary situation of the region.
This is the story of a people who watched with horror as their world fragmented into a hundred different cities, as walls rose between them and bodies piled in the streets. Then one day, after yet another war, a foreign army invaded, toppled the leader, destroyed the state, and proceeded to invent a new country. This is the story of a people who once lived under the rule of a megalomaniac leader who shaped the state in his own image. Published on the twentieth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, it places the experience of ordinary civilians at its heart. ‘A powerful, unforgettable book’ Nadifa Mohamed, author of The Fortune MenĪ work of great beauty and tragedy from a gifted storyteller and reporter.
‘Exquisite… a genuine melancholy masterpiece’ William Dalrymple, author of The Anarchy ONE OF THE GUARDIAN’S NON-FICTION BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2023
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