Look no further for your next read than this selection of powerful books written by authors who were displaced from their homelands. From moving autobiographies and stunning fiction to anthologies of essays, collaborative novels and even a hugely evocative cookbook, each tells a poignant story about displacement and refugeehood. The books in this collection will give you a deep insight into the experience of becoming a refugee, the terror of the journeys made by thousands seeking safety outside of their homeland, the mistreatment refugees face at the hands of governments and authorities, and the struggle of building a new life far from home.
The Lightless Sky | Gulwali Passarlay
This extraordinary autobiography by activist Gulwali Passarlay chronicles the year-long journey he made as a 12 year-old boy, from Afghanistan to the UK. After his father and grandfather were killed, he and his 13 year-old brother fled their homeland to escape being recruited by the Taliban or pressured into collaborating with the American military. The harrowing story of his 7,000 mile journey describes how a young boy who had never seen the sea survived imprisonment, hunger, brutal mistreatment, and a Channel crossing which almost cost his life. This heartrending account also offers keen insights into the harsh commercial realities of people smuggling, the psychological impact of refugeehood and integration into a new country, and an exploration of the complexities of the situation in Afghanistan.
Once in the UK, the young Gulwali threw himself into every opportunity he could find, excelling at school and university and dedicating each spare minute to volunteering and activism. Today, he is not only an acclaimed author but also a prize-winning activist and campaigner.
No Friend But The Mountains | Behrouz Boochani
Held for more than 6 years in the infamous Australian detention facility Manus Prison after attempting to seek asylum, Iranian-Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani wrote No Friend But The Mountains while imprisoned. The bestselling account of his time spent in the scandal-riven Papua New Guinea prison – under the Australian policy of indefinite detention – was painstakingly written by sending his publisher sections of his manuscript over WhatsApp. No Friend But The Mountains has received a host of awards, including the prestigious Victorian Prize for Literature. Boochani was finally granted asylum in New Zealand in 2020.
The Settler’s Cookbook | Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
This food-focused memoir by British journalist and broadcaster Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is a captivating account of hybridity, migration and home. Beautifully written, this account of her childhood in Uganda, her family’s expulsion from the country during Idi Amin’s Expulsion of Asians in 1972, and building a home in the UK is interspersed with more than 100 recipes for gems like chilli bhajia and cocothende, a delectable fried coconut pastry. An intensely readable combination of cookbook and family history, The Settler’s Cookbook is both fascinating and a joy to read.
Baddawi | By Leila Abdelrazaq
If you loved Persepolis, you need to get your hands on this masterpiece of a graphic novel by Leila Abdelrazaq. Baddawi was inspired by stories of her father’s childhood in the Baddawi camp in northern Lebanon after the family was forced to flee Palestine in 1948. In vivid black and white, Baddawi is a moving coming-of-age story which highlights the struggles of Palestinians after the Nakba – the exodus of over 700,000 Palestinians from their homeland after the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
Shatila Stories | By Omar Khaled Ahmad, Nibal Alalo, Safa Khaled Algharbawi, Omar Abdellatif Alndaf, Rayan Mohamad Sukkar, Safiya Badran, Fatima Omar Ghazawi, Samih Mahmoud and Hiba Mareb and translated by Nashwa Gowanlock
Shatila Stories is a collaborative work of fiction written by first-time authors living in Shatila Camp in Beirut, Lebanon. The site of the slaughter of up to 3,500 civilians in the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982, today Shatila houses tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians and Syrians on a footprint of only 1km2. Inspired by their own experiences, each writer’s contribution is woven into a series of interlinked stories which together paint an evocative picture of life in Shatila. A portion of proceeds from each book sold goes to Basmeh & Zeitooneh, an NGO which helped facilitate the Project. Basmeh & Zeitooneh provide relief, training, support services and education through community centres in Lebanon and Beirut, including Shatila.
We Are Displaced: My Journey And Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World | Malala Yousafzai
This list wouldn’t be complete without the inimitable Malala Yousafzai’s most recent book, We Are Displaced. Split between her own story of being targeted by the Taliban and the stories of nine other girls, each forced to flee their countries, this best-selling anthology is a powerful exploration of refugehood. Both a poignant account of the horrors faced by millions across the world and an uplifting story of hope, We Are Displaced tells the devastating stories of the people behind the reductive news headlines and celebrates their successes and the new lives they have built.
The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives | Edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen
A series of essays by a sparkling collection of world-renowned journalists, authors, filmmakers and illustrators, each displaced from their homelands, this anthology was edited by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer. Detailing stories of displacement as far apart as Chile and Iran, The Displaced delves deep into the experience of refugeehood, offering profound insight into human resilience and the struggle for safety and identity. The publisher has pledged to donate 10% of proceeds, at a minimum amount of $25,000 each year, to the International Rescue Committee.
Planet of Clay | By Samar Yazbek and translated by Leri Price
Planet of Clay is the latest novel by Samar Yazbek, the award-winning author of The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria. We experience the horrors of the war through the eyes of Rima, a young neurodivergent girl from Damascus caught up in the violence of the Syrian civil war. The atrocities she witnesses and the secret worlds she escapes to in her mind are relayed in a skilfully translated stream-of-consciousness style. Planet of Clay is a National Book Award finalist and winner of the English Pen Award.
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Let us know if you’ve read any of these titles, we’d love to hear what you thought of them! Are there any other authors you’d like us to include in our next round up?