Stock up your bookshelves this month with our top ten books about Syria. We’ve rounded up the best books by Syrian authors to create the ultimate Syria reading list for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of the country.
From Hanna Mina and Nizar Qabbani to Colette Khoury and Ulfat Idlibi, Syria has given the world a stunning array of literary greats and giants of poetry. Following in this rich tradition of literary heritage, this collection of books will immerse you in the culture, society, politics and even cuisine of Syria through their pages.
From poetry, fiction, hard-hitting journalistic accounts and poignant memoirs to cookbooks, this list has you covered whether you’re studying the Syrian crisis, or simply looking for a brilliant new novel to sink into. There’s something for all ages too, with some wonderful ideas for the kids in your life, from preschoolers to teens!
Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline | Edited by Malu Halasa, Zaher Omareen and Nawara Mahfoud
This award-winning anthology of photographs, letters, short stories, cartoons, poetry and more is a collection of the work of fifty Syrian writers, artists and photographers who have poured their experiences of the conflict into their work. The result is a stunning collection which gives unrivalled insights into the Syrian experience and celebrates the cultural wealth of the people behind the headlines.
The Wrong End of the Telescope | By Rabih Alameddine
A stunning novel which will captivate and devastate you in equal measure, by the prize-winning author of An Unnecessary Woman. In his latest novel, Alameddine takes us to Moria, the camp hosting thousands of Syrian refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos. Through Mina, a volunteer Lebanese doctor and our protagonist, we witness both the larger humanitarian catastrophe of the Syrian conflict as well as the personal tragedies of the people she meets in Greece.
Songs of Mihyar the Damascene | By Adonis and translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid and Ivan Eubanks
This masterpiece of Middle Eastern literature is a must-read for poetry lovers, and is now available in a fantastic new English translation. Written in the 1960s by Adonis, one of the shining lights of Arabic poetry and nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature, this collection remains hugely influential and is regarded as the pinnacle of modernist Arabic poetry.
Man At The Airport: How Social Media Saved My Life | By Hassan Al Kontar
Man At The Airport is Hassan Al Kontar’s compelling account of his time trapped in legal limbo by the Syrian war, unable to leave the arrivals lounge of Kuala Lumpur airport for more than seven months and with social media as his only recourse. Hassan was a young professional working overseas in the UAE when war broke out in Syria. Unwilling to return home as he would have been conscripted into the army, he was deported to Malaysia where he was plunged into the bureaucratic nightmare of refugeehood. After being refused entry to country after country, he even applied to join the NASA mission to Mars in a last-ditch attempt to escape the airport terminal. Man At The Airport shows Al Kontar’s humour and tenacity in the face of exile and the power of social media to give a mouthpiece to the disempowered.
Death Is Hard Work | By Khaled Khalifa and translated by Leri Price
After his father passes away in a Damascus hospital, Bolbol attempts to fulfil his father’s wish to be buried in his hometown of Anabiya, two hours away from the city. Death Is Hard Work follows Bolbol’s journey across war-torn Syria along with his estranged brother and sister, as they face bombs, capture and imprisonment in their quest to get their father home. This latest novel from the masterful Syrian author Khaled Khalifa is now available in an English translation.
The Aleppo Cookbook: Celebrating the Legendary Cuisine of Syria | By Marlene Matar
Inspired by her time in Aleppo and her mother’s Syrian heritage, chef Marlene Matar has compiled The Aleppo Cookbook as a love letter to Syrian cuisine. The food of Aleppo is a particular culinary gem thanks to the city’s unique location and history. Aleppo has been inhabited since 5000 BCE and through its position on the Silk Road has absorbed influences from Turkish, Persian, Greek, Armenian and even Chinese cuisine. In The Aleppo Cookbook, Matar preserves this wealth of culinary heritage through recipes gathered from home cooks, restaurants and chefs from across the city. In addition to recipes including Rice and Orange Pudding, Syrian Fishcakes and even meat-free Kibbeh, Matar gives breakdowns of spice mixes and explains in depth how to prepare ingredients like artichokes and vine leaves.
Sumac: Recipes and Stories from Syria | By Anas Atassi
At first glance, Sumac may look like a cookbook, but that doesn’t quite cover Atassi’s sensational ode to his childhood in Homs. Far more than just simple recipes, this is the history of a country, a family and a cuisine through its food. Atassi’s mouthwatering recipes are combined with his memories of family traditions and feasts in Syria, explanations of everything right down to the patterns of table cloths, and beautiful photography by Rania Kataf (of Humans of Damascus fame) to give a portrait of Syria so vivid you can almost taste it.
The Pianist From Syria: A Memoir | By Aeham Ahmad and translated by Emanuel Bergmann
Against a background of buildings reduced to rubble by missile strikes, a lone man played his piano into the silence. Now Aeham Ahmad tells his story in his poignant memoir, The Pianist From Syria. Born in an unofficial refugee camp in the suburbs of Damascus, Aeham’s grandparents had been forced to flee Palestine in the 1940s. When their family is thrown into war and refugeehood once again, Aeham falls back on his deep love of music to survive. Now living and performing in Germany, Aeham has received the International Beethoven Prize for Human Rights.
Sisters of the War: Two Remarkable True Stories of Survival and Hope in Syria | By Rania Abouzeid
In this book for teens, award-winning journalist Rania Abouzeid juxtaposes the true stories of two pairs of young sisters, caught on either side of the Syrian civil war. While Jawa and Hanin are Alawite and live under government control in Damascus, Ruha and Alaa are Sunni and live in rebel controlled territory. Throughout the missile strikes, arrests and killings taking place around them, the girls carry on, turning the bombings into memory games and sorting through smuggled medical supplies with their parents, but never giving up hope. Abouzeid gives a harrowing view into the Syrian conflict through the eyes of these four incredible girls. Don’t miss her book for adults, the stunning No Turning Back, an account of the Syrian conflict through the stories of her interviewees on the frontlines.
Salma the Syrian Chef | By Danny Ramadan and illustrated by Anna Bron
This beautiful children’s story from Danny Ramadan, author of the award-winning novel The Clothesline Swing, introduces us to Salma, a little girl who has fled Syria and just wants to make her mama happy again. Charmingly illustrated by Anna Bron, we follow Salma and her new friends as they work together to cook up a Syrian feast to make her mum smile. Keep an eye out for Danny’s next adult novel The Foghorn Echoes, which will be released in August 2022!
Have you read any of the books on the list? Let us know what you thought or if you have any other recommendations!
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If you’d like more reading inspiration, take a look at these articles:
8 Unmissable Books By Refugee Authors