Guapa by Saleem Haddad

Guapa

Saleem Haddad

A beautifully written ‘coming out story’ set in the Middle East during the Arab Spring. I found this really easy to read and absorbing from start to finish.

Extract
The morning begins with shame. This is not new, but as memories of last night begin to sink in, the feeling takes on a terrifying resonance. I grimace, squirm, dig my fingers in my palms until the pain in my hands reflects how I feel. But there is not controlling what Teta saw, and her absence from my bedside means that she doesn’t intend, as she had promised, to file away last night’s mess in a deep corner of her mind.
Parallels
  • What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwood
  • Pomegranate Sky by Louse Soraya Black
  • Baumgartner’s Bombay by Anita Desai
Borrow this book
Violence
Explicit sexual content