The Silence and The Roar: A Novel by Nihad Sirees, translated by Max Weiss
A funny, sexy, dystopian novel about the struggle of an individual over tyranny. Tinged with a Kafkaesque sense of the absurd, this novel explores what it means to be truly free in mind and body.
"Sirees takes on, with piercing insight, the huge themes of freedom, individuality, integrity, and, yes, love, in this beautiful, funny, and life-affirming novel...[The Silence and the Roar] indisputably connects to current events, but its value as art and political commentary is timeless. Sirees has written a 1984 for the 21st century."-- Publishers Weekly, choice for Top Ten Books of 2013
"In this short, satiric fable, a formerly famous writer silenced by an authoritarian regime finds himself in a predicament where Kafka meets Catch-22.-- Kirkus
“With biting humor Nihad Sirees reveals the extraordinary injustices of ordinary life under the oppressive rule of the "Leader." This country remains unnamed but the richly rendered story illuminates the hard reality of the many Middle Eastern states in political transition today."--Shahan Mufti, journalist and author of The Faithful Scribe