Meike Ziervogel | Shams

9781784633486

10/03/25

PB

112 pages

Shams is a young Syrian refugee woman who lives in Shatila, one of the world’s oldest refugee camps. She dreams of education and living a better life in Europe. But there are no schools in the camp, and her family opposes her dreams. Mr Tony, a poet running a charity, seems to offer a way out. But the camp appears to be taking on a life of its own, as a malevolent, all-consuming and seductive presence.

‘Ziervogel goes bravely to the bleakest points of humanity and illuminates them with her lyrical and enthralling prose.’ —Claire Kohda, The Guardian

‘Ziervogel grew up in Germany and this taut, mysterious novel not only conjures female subjectivities and grief, but it also paints a haunting portrait of the country in the 1950s Germany, with its greater sense of loss, and the looming spectre of crimes committed during the war.’ —Arifa Akbar, The Guardian