The Chicago Review of Books recommends Khalifa’s “No one prayed over their graves” as one of the 12 must reads of July! By Michael Welch, July 5, 2023

From the National Book Award finalist Khaled Khalifa comes the story of two friends whose lives are altered by a flood that devastates their Syrian village. On a December morning in 1907, Hanna and Zakariya return to their village near Aleppo to discover that their neighbors and families have all tragically died in a massive flood. The traumatic event forever changes Hanna, who goes from being a wealthy libertine landowner to an ascetic mystic obsessed with death and the meaning of life. Through its intimacy and grace, No One Prayed Over Their Graves is a heart-wrenching and beautiful exploration of change in Syria.