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The Clothesline Swing
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
11 posts | 9 read | 15 to read
The Clothesline Swing is a journey through the troublesome aftermath of the Arab Spring. A former Syrian refugee himself, Ramadan unveils an enthralling tale of courage that weaves through the mountains of Syria, the valleys of Lebanon, the encircling seas of Turkey, the heat of Egypt and finally, the hope of a new home in Canada. Inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, The Clothesline Swing tells the epic story of two lovers anchored to the memory of a dying Syria. One is a Hakawati, a storyteller, keeping life in forward motion by relaying remembered fables to his dying partner. Each night he weaves stories of his childhood in Damascus, of the cruelty he has endured for his sexuality, of leaving home, of war, of his fated meeting with his lover. Meanwhile Death himself, in his dark cloak, shares the house with the two men, eavesdropping on their secrets as he awaits their final undoing.
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review
Ashley328
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
Pickpick

The most compelling book I‘ve read in a long time, and it has the most beautiful prose. Love the way Death is brought in as a proper character throughout. I gained a deeper appreciation for the richness of life in Syria pre-conflict, and for the difficulties of the immigrant experience...not to mention the challenges of being gay in an unwelcoming setting.

LitsyWelcomeWagon Welcome to Litsy! Here are links to #Litsytips: http://bit.ly/litsytips and #LitsyHowTo videos: goo.gl/UrCpoU. There‘s lots of fun things to do: book exchanges, buddy reads, photo challenges and more! #litsywelcomewagon 5y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🌺 5y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Welcome to Litsy 🎃📚🎃 5y
Readswithcoffee Welcome to Litsy ☕️📚📚📚☕️ 5y
CoffeeNBooks Welcome to Litsy! 📚 5y
2 likes5 comments
quote
catreadsbooks
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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“If I had to pick, the sweetest of all of our kisses was our very first. I cherish that kiss, for it was the first blossom in a garden of forbidden fruits we planted together. It was the spurt that broke through the soil of our mundane lives and taught all the other flowers how to grow.”

review
reneelyons
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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Pickpick

Every once in a while a book comes along that feels so personal, that the authour has laid so much bare, the it's beyond review; that was my experience with this book. This was a beautiful reading experience.

Full review: https://reneereadsbooks.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/book-review-the-clothesline-swi...

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Lindy
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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The lighting wasn't conducive to photos at the #VWF2017 Uprooted event last night, so this photo of Ramadan is from the Internet. He was wearing an adorable rainbow bow tie yesterday. Ramadan is a gay Syrian refugee and his English is excellent, but he made a slip in pronunciation that elicited giggles from the audience when he described Damascus as a city which has many times over the centuries arisen like a penis (phoenix).

Louise 😂 adorable! 7y
Cinfhen Sounds fabulous and that story is hilarious 😂 7y
LeahBergen 😂😂 7y
Tamra 😂😂 So funny! 7y
39 likes4 comments
review
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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Pickpick

A poetic, elegiac first novel about an elderly gay Syrian man looking back on his life and telling stories while his partner is dying. The timeless, fairy tale feel of the stories he tells particularly reminded me of Helen Oyeyemi. Although dark at times (content includes suicide, mental illness, gay-bashing, sexual assault), the book is ultimately life-affirming as well as healing, for both the author and readers. #QueerBooks #WeNeedDiverseBooks

31 likes2 stack adds
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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I started reading this about a month ago and then lost it in my apartment under a stack of other books! (What a bookworm problem eh?). Now I think I have to start over because I forgot what I read! But that's okay since I was only about a chapter in. #QueerBooks

Bertha_Mason I can't wait to hear how it is! 7y
38 likes2 comments
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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Today I handed in my last assignment for library school!! I am officially a librarian!! My first action as a fully fledged librarian is to emphasize how important it is to read, buy, and promote books by people of colour! On another note, these are officially all the books I currently own that have been sent to me for review. Can i read them all and catch up before I have a librarian job? Only time will tell... #QueerBooks

Cinfhen Congrats 🎉🎉🎉so exciting 7y
saresmoore Woohoo! Congratulations! 7y
batsy Congratulations! 📚📚📚 7y
See All 12 Comments
Soubhiville That's awesome! Great job! 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Congrats!😃 7y
ReadingEnvy Congratulations! I am so excited that you are one of us. U thought you already were. 🐙 7y
Bookzombie Congratulations!! 7y
xicanti Congratulations! 7y
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian Thanks everyone! 7y
LeahBergen Congrats!! 🎉🎉 7y
MicheleinPhilly Congratulations! 7y
Dragon Congratulations 🎉 7y
50 likes12 comments
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CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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#Bookmail! Just got this copy of a local Vancouver queer author's debut novel, set in his native Syria. It's "the epic story of two lovers anchored to the memory of a dying Syria." #QueerBooks

LeahBergen This one sounds great. 👍🏼 7y
WhatDeeReads Sounds great! 7y
dixi_e Curious to know what you think. I struggled to get into it and wasn't sad when it's due date arrived. 7y
See All 6 Comments
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian @dixi_e It definitely sounds sad from the description! I find I usually have to intersperse lighter genre reads in between heavy lit fic like this. 7y
dixi_e It wasn't the content that kept me from connectioning but the writing . The narrative voice was flat and the writing seemed clunky. I tried to give myself time to get into it but I was bored by it and bailed. I didn't have a chance to come back to it as it was due back to the library. 7y
37 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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shawnmooney
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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This article today reminds me that I want to try this one out – it's available as an e-book with my Scribd subscription.

http://www.cbc.ca/books/2017/07/hiwi-clothesline-swing.html

Lindy I'm already looking forward to hearing him at the Vancouver Writers Fest in October. 7y
shawnmooney One of these years I'm going to move back to Canada and follow you around from literary festival to literary festival and we will drink a lot and have a bookish gabfest from coast to coast! 7y
ReadingEnvy Wow this one hadn't hit my border list yet! 7y
34 likes2 stack adds3 comments
review
dixi_e
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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Bailedbailed

Full of promise until I started reading. The narrative voice didn't appeal to me, making it a story I had to push my way through. Rather than suffering, I quit and moved on. #bookbail #timebetterspent

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shawnmooney
The Clothesline Swing | Ahmad Danny Ramadan
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I just found out about this May 2017 novel by a former Syrian refugee: a gay spin on the Arab Spring, on finding a new home in Canada.

saresmoore How do you do it?! 7y
Spiderfelt I love the cover illustration 7y
31 likes4 stack adds2 comments