TMR Book Club Discusses “Selamlik” with author Khaled Alesmael
November 24 @ 19:00 - 20:00
Free
Join us for our final book club discussion of the year on Sunday, November 24th at 1pm EST/ 7pm CET as we dive into “Selamlik” with the author Khaled Alesmael.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
An unflinching story about Arab masculinity and homoeroticism.
Furat, a Syrian in his early 20s, visits Sibki Park in Damascus, one of the city’s most popular cruising areas. There he learns about the hammams, secret meeting places for gay men located throughout the old city. Inside these public baths, the air is thick with the scent of bay laurel soap, and naked men hide in the steam. Furat faces sometimes violent disapproval from all levels of society, religion, and the man in the street–and yet he manages to find the love he’s been seeking just before his world collapses and he’s forced to flee.
Selamlik is the story of Furat’s journey, along with that of other refugees. It’s a journey in which they face physical and economic hardship, draconian migration laws, and the unwelcome grief, shame, and hatred they’ve carried with them from their ever more distant pasts. Despite everything, Furat remains steadfast in his pursuit of passion, pleasure, and love.
Published by World Editions, translated by Leri Price, 2024 (pages 240).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A Syrian-Swedish queer writer, journalist, and filmmaker based in London. His writing appears in several media outlets, including New Statesman in London and Taz in Berlin. He speaks about queer literature particularly Arabic and Syrian at public events and universities, including Oxford University, the University of Sussex, and the University of Essex.
His debut novel, Selamlik (2018), A queer Syrian refugee story informed by his personal life as a gay refugee in Europe after the civil war in Syria and the book has received notable acclaim and was shortlisted for the German SKOUTZ Award in 2021.
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