A Middle-Eastern capital caught in the revolutionary wave of the Arab Spring. A day in the life of a young man disillusioned with both East and West and struggling to find a place for himself in a society ruled by hypocrisy and contradictions. Rasa works as an interpreter for Western journalists by day and divides his nights between the Guapa, an underground nightclub where the city’s clandestine LGBT community congregates, and his secret lover Taymour. When Rasa’s overbearing grandmother, the woman who raised him, finds them in bed together on the eve of Taymour’s wedding, all hell breaks loose. That same day Rasa learns his best friend, the famous drag queen Majid, has been arrested by the police. Unable to go home, afraid for Majid’s fate, and heartbroken by Taymour’s determination to keep living a double life, Rasa’s fragile balance collapses.
Why I chose it:
This ambitious debut takes on a number of complex themes with empathy, insight and an engaging lightness of touch. The characterisation was a particular strength. Review to accompany Saleem Haddad’s guest post on The Gay Novel on 30 November.
