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Eine Freundschaft auf Leben und Tod – in einer Welt, die kippt
ICH KOMME NICHT ZURÜCK / I'M NOT COMING BACK
A Novel, 176 pages
Autumn 2024
English sample available
Rasha Khayat tells of a luminous friendship that is put to the test,not least by society.
A novel about love, loneliness, loss and belonging
‘This book is like an outstretched hand. A sad and beautiful protest against everything that divides people instead of uniting them.’
DANIELA DRÖSCHER
„Rasha Khayat tells her story in a poetic and heartfelt way.“
NDR KULTUR
„Rasha Khayat describes the deep friendship between two girls who are broken by their speechlessness over a terrible event. (...) Impressive.“
DEUTSCHLANDFUNK KULTUR
Friends for Life — in a World Teetering on the Brink
Hanna, Zeyna and Cem - a luminous friendship that begins one summer in the late 1980s. They grow up together in a working-class neighbourhood in the Ruhr area, forming a family of choice in which origin plays no role. Home is where they can be together.
But the older the children get, the more visible the differences between them become. On 11 September 2001, their friendship is finally put to the test, until the rifts between Hanna and Zeyna grow into a rift.
Years later, Hanna returns to the flat of her now deceased grandparents. The city stands still and Hanna feels lonely. Cem, her rock, is still there, but Zeyna has been gone from her life for years. Hanna sets off in search of Zeyna, of traces of her history, of what came between them back then.
In a linguistically gripping yet poetic way, Rasha Khayat tells of the gaps in our lives and how we try to overcome them, of great love in an unusual family constellation and friendship in a world that is falling apart at the seams.
A Novel, 176 pages
Autumn 2024
English sample available
Rasha Khayat tells of a luminous friendship that is put to the test,not least by society.
A novel about love, loneliness, loss and belonging
‘This book is like an outstretched hand. A sad and beautiful protest against everything that divides people instead of uniting them.’
DANIELA DRÖSCHER
„Rasha Khayat tells her story in a poetic and heartfelt way.“
NDR KULTUR
„Rasha Khayat describes the deep friendship between two girls who are broken by their speechlessness over a terrible event. (...) Impressive.“
DEUTSCHLANDFUNK KULTUR
Friends for Life — in a World Teetering on the Brink
Hanna, Zeyna and Cem - a luminous friendship that begins one summer in the late 1980s. They grow up together in a working-class neighbourhood in the Ruhr area, forming a family of choice in which origin plays no role. Home is where they can be together.
But the older the children get, the more visible the differences between them become. On 11 September 2001, their friendship is finally put to the test, until the rifts between Hanna and Zeyna grow into a rift.
Years later, Hanna returns to the flat of her now deceased grandparents. The city stands still and Hanna feels lonely. Cem, her rock, is still there, but Zeyna has been gone from her life for years. Hanna sets off in search of Zeyna, of traces of her history, of what came between them back then.
In a linguistically gripping yet poetic way, Rasha Khayat tells of the gaps in our lives and how we try to overcome them, of great love in an unusual family constellation and friendship in a world that is falling apart at the seams.
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Rasha Khayat
Rasha Khayat was born in Dortmund, Germany, in 1978 and grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Her family returned to Germany when she was eleven. She...
Rasha Khayat was born in Dortmund, Germany, in 1978 and grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Her family returned to Germany when she was eleven. She studied Comparative Literatures, German Studies, and Philosophy in Bonn. She has been working as a freelance author, translator and lecturer since 2005. Her debut novel ‘Weil wir längst woanders sind’ was published in 2016. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Robert Bosch Stiftung's Grenzgänger scholarship, residencies in...