It’s a long way from Iraq
September 22nd, 2015
And you thought it was hard being gay in Victoria? Or Whitehorse? Set in war-torn Iraq in 2003, Hasan Namir’s forthcoming novel about being queer and Muslim, God in Pink (Arsenal $15.95) breaks new ground for B.C. publishing. Born in Iraq in 1987, Namir has graduated from SFU with a BA in English. Set in Iraq, his story follows the travails of a gay university student named Ramy whose parents have died, so he seeks counsel—as well as escape from the scrutiny of his fundamentalist brother and sister-in-law—with a sheikh at the local mosque, Ammar. When the teachings of the Qur’an don’t mesh with the realities of Ramy’s anguished predicament, the inherited belief system is called into question. It’s a long way from The Well of Loneliness. 978-1-55152-605-5
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