The Clothesline Swing

I seldom write reviews, but this book was exceptional on so many levels that I felt compelled to share in hopes that others will experience it for themselves. Ramadan’s vignettes are at times raw, wistful and bittersweet, but always hauntingly beautiful and relatable. To attempt to classify this book would do it a great disservice. The themes span mortality, identity and family in many forms, from many angles. Joy and pain are never far, but always transcendent. The prose is lyrical, and yet belies a depth of awareness and sophistication far beyond the author’s chronological age. On my first reading, I had to put the book down several times, overcome by emotion. On subsequent readings I continue to discover more – in the story and in myself. It is the mark of an exceptional storyteller to draw out hidden parts of the reader, causing them to recognize aspects of themselves and reflect on their own life in unique ways. This seems intentional and yet never overbearing. In Ramadan’s own words, and one of my favorite passages: “We give to art as it gives to us... we complete the missing pieces left by true artists with pieces of ourselves... without that forbidden touch between minds, art is pointless.” I am grateful for this literary gift that Ramadan has given us, and look forward to the next work from this talented young author. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Once I got into the rhythm of it, the weaving together of past, present and future became a magical kind of approach, luring me in on a more emotional level and making the stories very powerful. In addition to the magic, these stories also help to build bridges of knowledge and empathy in a world that needs more of both.

This book combines elements -- magic realism, science fiction, literary fiction -- to create a rich story that, while often harrowing in both political and emotional ways, is ultimately about the redemptive powers of love.

Absolutely fantastic book!

Ramadan's voice is undeniable. From the very first paragraph the reader is yanked into a beautifully woven tale, reminiscent of Scheherazade as the storyteller tries to persuade his lover to stay with him for just a while longer. Different threads of seemingly disparate tales come together with authority, shocking and delighting the reader with the unexpected.Ramadan brings snapshots of a life into focus slowly, and with great tenderness. This is true poetry in writing, a book I couldn't put down and didn't want to. The only time I paused to read was when I was crying too much to see the words, or needed a moment to let the story sit with me. This is a groundbreaking piece of literature, a wonderful adventure through an incredibly realistic and poignant yet somehow completely ordinary life. Nothing about this story is dramatised, rather, there's a simplicity to the narrative that is greatly impactful. There is something majestic about the string of human connections Ramadan has threaded together.A book I look forward to rereading, already.

I had to force myself to finish this book. It was okay at the beginning - I was hoping it would get better, and it did not. The Clothesline Swing is the the story of two gay Syrian refugees. It's an interesting framework; the narrator, one of the two, is telling stories to his husband to keep him in the world of the living. (The husband is dying from an unnamed illness.) There's a catch, though - Death is also with them, as an actual presence that can be talked to and interacted with. He smokes a join with the narrator at one point, and tells stories of his own - even plans a party - at another point. The story flicks back and forth between their past and their present with some unpredictability as the narrator tells his stories.Because of the presence of Death, and the kind of hazy, in-between space that the stories reside in (between life and death, between awake and asleep, between fantasy and reality), the entire book is a little dream-like. I don't particularly enjoy ever-shifting books that don't have some kind of solid foundation for me to start on.The book did a good job of showing the dangers of being gay in middle-eastern society, and also showed how hard it is to be a citizen of a country at war with itself. The list of friends who have died in violent ways is threaded through the entire book of stories. She was caught in a crossfire in an alley - he killed himself after being forced to marry a woman - he died when his office was shelled - she died from a car bomb.I don't know. It's a strange book. I'm hesitant to say don't waste your time, because it covers important topics, but the dreamy quality just ruined it for me.

We visited Syria, for holidays, in the 1970s and again shortly before the civil war. It was one of our favourite destinations with 3,000 years of culture and history. The war is such a tragedy.

The Hakawati serves a vital purpose for humanity. S/he brings forth light through story to birth new awareness. As reader, it is a mistake to use a story to psycho-analyze its author. If you do this, you’ve missed the point entirely. Yet, I see it time and time again — the response of readers trying to understand the writer or feel for the writer as if to say: Thank God I’m not you! Because they cannot imagine where this story comes from. (Thus the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction.) But it is the Greatest Denial. For the Power of Story lives in our ability to TRAVEL INSIDE OURSELVES to FEEL where the story takes us … what it reveals through us. This is our sacred task as readers. It is the way story transforms us, the way we become more human. So few people have the courage to read this way. And even fewer storytellers have the courage to write this way. ‘The Clothesline Swing’ has been authored by a Masterful Storyteller. Read it. You’ll be held by a courageous heart. Better still, you’ll be changed in a profound and lasting way. The only question that will remain is are you wise enough to allow the story to live IN you as the Magic of Life? Because it is a Supreme Mirror revealing the deepest secret of life: Love is the answer to every question and each one of us is its conduit.Searing Truth. Beautiful Book.

It was so moving and revealing to read about young people in a war zone doing all the things young people do wherever they are, even with such devastation around them. The sense of country as mother, whom you deeply love but have to leave so that you can survive. And I'm going to try omelets with a spoonful of flour to make them fluffy. Thanks for writing this beautiful book Danny.

The concept of the person telling stories to their dying lover while death lingers in the shadows is beautiful. Learned so much, gave me lots to think about. Not a quick read, take time to savour it.

Beautiful book, so compelling and emotional. The language is beautiful, sometimes it's like poetry. I purposely waited every evening to read one chapter at a time to make it last longer... and I never ever do that. I already lend it to other people and I can't wait for the author to publish more books.