City of the Silenced

WINNER OF THE NAGUIB MAHFOUZ MEDAL FOR LITERATURE ~ WINNER OF THE KATARA PRIZE FOR ARABIC FICTION

A stunning and luminous novel of modern Lebanon, a deeply human portrayal of men and women longing for change

“This novel transcends the limits of its own setting in space and time to unveil a general human reality for those of us in contemporary society who live in cities that stifle souls and kill dreams.”—Sarah Enany, translator of The Girl with Braided Hair

In Lebanon’s coastal city of Tyre, Sultan was raised by the sea, under the shade of ficus trees. But it is not an idyllic life. He lives in the cemetery, born into a family who hold the unique profession of announcing a person’s death through a loudspeaker around town. Sultan longs to escape the dark shadow cast by this existence, longs not to follow in his father’s footsteps, but finds himself trapped between the cemetery and the sea.

Sultan is not alone in his desire for escape: His best friend loads his family onto a small boat and takes the treacherous journey to Europe; another friend joins an armed militia. Meanwhile, Sultan begins an ill-fated romance with an upper-class girl he meets at a book club, and she encourages him to emigrate to Canada.

Through Sultan and those closest to him, Mohammed Tarazi traces the collapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the devastating Beirut Port explosion, and the crushing weight of decay and corruption on those seeking simply to live ordinary lives. Achingly painful and beautifully crafted, City of the Silenced cuts into the most basic human need to survive: to find hope and reach for a better future.