No Land to Light On: Longlisted for the 2022 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize

'Tense, lyrical, intelligent' - The Big Issue 'A heart-wrenching human story' - Saga Exit West meets An American Marriage in this breathtaking and evocative novel about a young Syrian couple in the throes of new love, on the cusp of their bright future...when a travel ban rips them apart on the eve of their son's birth. Boston, 2017: When Hadi returns to his heavily pregnant partner Sama after a trip to Jordan to bury his father, he is stopped at border control - a hostile new immigration law has just been enacted - while she awaits him on the other side. Worlds apart, suspended between hope and disillusion as hours become days become weeks, Sama and Hadi yearn for a way back to each other, and to the life they'd dreamed up together. But does that life exist any more, or was it only an illusion? Achingly intimate yet poignantly universal, No Land to Light On is the story of a family caught up in forces beyond their control, fighting for the freedom and home they found in one another

About the Author :
Yara Zgheib is the author of the critically acclaimed The Girls at 17 Swann Street, which was a People pick for best new books and received rave reviews from The New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and Bustle. She is a Fulbright scholar with a master's degree in security studies from Georgetown University and a PhD in international affairs in diplomacy from Centre d' Études Diplomatiques et Stratégiques in Paris.

Review :
Zgheib writes so lyrically about rootlessness, separation and a fierce longing for home that it makes the tragedy of war that much easier to bear. Sama and Hadi will always hold a special place in my heart. A masterful story of tragedy and redemption, an entire history told through the prism of a single Syrian couple, beginning and ending with love. Through a heart-wrenching human story runs a narrative about avian migration, the urge to take flight felt even by a caged bird - but all birds of passage need land to light on. In elegant prose, Zgheib skillfully mingles her protagonists' memories with a nail-biting account of their 2017 ordeal to craft a narrative rich in metaphors and complex, believable characters. [in] glittering language that brings emotional resonance to the effects of monstrous policies [...] The separation comes in like thunder to break a happy story apart. Zgheib's poetic language serves her well in conveying that story. But much of its power lies also in the playful way Sama and Hadi experience new love, the sense of open possibility that immigration can still represent. This happiness is embedded within her story of suffering - and vice versa. Zgheib has created a tense, moving novel about the meaning of home, the risks of exile, the power of nations, and the power of love. Her devastating second novel, No Land to Light On, is an illuminating, intimate look at the Syrian refugee crisis and the immigrant experience in America during the Trump administration [...] Zgheib offers nuanced insights into the complex psychology of and challenges faced by displaced people, and effectively makes the consequences of anti-immigrant sentiments and policies feel personal to all readers. Written in soul-searing prose, No Land to Light On is an essential, compassionate story that reinstates a sense of humanity for the countless people affected by U.S. travel bans. a graceful tale of imperiled lovers If you can handle suspense and heartache then add this one to your list. An ongoing travel ban threatens every hope [Hadi and Sumi] ever shared, and through a chronicle of their torn-up plans, Zgheib deftly addresses pertinent issues of identity, homeland, exile and loss. This is a tense, lyrical, intelligent novel.