Il silenzio e il tumulto

In the sweltering heat of a dusty Middle Eastern town ruled by a dictatorship, Fathi Shin, who is a famous writer accused of anti-patriotism and banned from publishing new books, experiences a day of Kafkaesque absurdity.

While an exalted, disarrayed, and uncontrollable crowd pours into the city at the leader's behest to celebrate twenty years of his rise to power, Fathi tries to escape the tumult to find silence, and visit his mother and his lover. However, the moment he crosses the threshold of his apartment, the trouble begins...

This is a novel about life under and during a dictatorship. It is a vivid portrait of a people dominated by fear. It is an urgent story to tell that is sensual and capable of bringing a smile even in a period dominated by violence, and an act of courage by a brilliant Syrian writer. First published in Lebanon in 2004 and censored in Syria, it has been translated into German, French, and English, and received the PEN Writing in Translation Award in 2013.

Author: Nihad Sirees (نِهَاد سِيرِيس)

He is an acclaimed Syrian novelist, playwright, and screenwriter celebrated for his profound, often satirical explorations of life under totalitarianism. Originally trained as a civil engineer, Sirees rose to prominence with historical TV dramas, such as The Silk Market, but his unflinching portrayal of political corruption eventually led to his work being banned and censored in Syria.

His most famous novella, The Silence and the Roar, earned him international comparisons to Kafka and Orwell for its surreal depiction of a writer navigating a personality cult. After being forced into exile in 2012 due to the Syrian Civil War, Sirees has lived in Egypt, the United States, and Germany. His work remains a vital, courageous testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring identity of Aleppo.