A Slap in the Face (The German List) - Hardcover

Khider, Abbas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0857425358 ISBN 13: 9780857425355

Publisher: Seagull Books, 2019

Synopsis

In our era of mass migration, much of it driven by war and its aftermath, A Slap in the Face could not be more timely. It tells the story of Karim, an Iraqi refugee living in Germany whose right to asylum has been revoked in the wake of Saddam Hussein's defeat. But Hussein wasn't the only reason Karim left, and as Abbas Khider unfolds his story, we learn both the secret struggles he faced in his homeland and the battles with prejudice, distrust, poverty, and bureaucracy he has to endure in his attempts to make a new life in Germany. As he erupts in frustration at his caseworker, and finally forces her to listen to his story, we get an account of a contemporary life upended by politics and violence, told with a warmth and humor that, while surprising us, does nothing to lessen the outrages Karim describes.

About this title

Review:

"Khider is a master in mirroring existential despair in small moments of absurd and other comedy." --Frankfurter Rundschau

About the Author:

Abbas Khider was a political prisoner in Saddam Hussein's Iraq before fleeing to Germany. Seagull Books published his debut novel, The Village Indian, in 2013. Simon Pare is a translator from French and German who lives in Paris.

About this edition

• Publisher: Seagull Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0857425358
• ISBN 13: 9780857425355
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 192