Daughter of the Tigris

The follow-up to the internationally acclaimed The President's Gardens

"Al-Ramli is a remarkable storyteller, and in Daughter of the Tigris he
creates a dynamic, intricately plotted narrative, brimming with stories and a
host of memorable characters" Susannah Tarbush, Banipal

On the sixth day of Ramadan, in a land without bananas, Qisma leaves for
Baghdad with her husband-to-be to find the body of her father. But in the
bloodiest year of a bloody war, how will she find one body among thousands?

For Tariq, this is more than just a marriage of convenience: the beautiful,
urbane Qisma must be his, body and soul. But can a sheikh steeped in genteel
tradition share a tranquil bed with a modern Iraqi woman?

The President has been deposed, and the garden of Iraq is full of presidents
who will stop at nothing to take his place. Qisma is afraid - afraid for her
son, afraid that it is only a matter of time before her father's murderers
come for her.

The only way to survive is to take a slice of Iraq for herself. But ambition
is the most dangerous drug of all, and it could just seal Qisma's fate.

Translated from the Arabic by Luke Leafgren

REVIEWS FOR THE PRESIDENT'S GARDENS

'Though firmly rooted in its context, The President's Gardens' concerns are
universal. It is a profoundly moving investigation of love, death and
injustice, and an affirmation of the importance of dignity, friendship and
meaning amid oppression. Its light touch and persistent humour make it an
enormous pleasure to read' Robin Yassin-Kassab, Guardian.

The President's Gardens evokes the fantastical, small town feel of One Hundred
Years of Solitude Tom Gordon, Financial Times

'No author is better placed than Muhsin Al-Ramli, already a star in the Arabic
literary scene, to tell this story. I read it in one sitting' Hassan Blasim,
winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize