The President's Gardens

Though firmly rooted in its context, The President’s Gardens’ concerns are universal. It is a profoundly moving investigation of love, death and injustice, and an affirmation of the importance of dignity, friendship and meaning amid oppression. The novel is undoubtedly a tragedy, but its light touch and persistent humour make it an enormous pleasure to read. - Guardian.

A story buffeted by the wider tides of history: the bloody churn of dictatorship, invasion and occupation … The President’s Gardens evokes the fantastical, small town feel of One Hundred Years of Solitude … Shocks and enchants. - Financial Times.

A beautiful novel … Consistently compelling … In writing about ordinary Iraqis who pay the cost of wars waged by autocratic leaders, Al-Ramli touches on deep and timeless themes. - Glasgow Herald.

Deeply painful and satirical, The President’s Gardens is a contemporary tragedy of epic proportions. No author is better placed than Muhsin Al-Ramli, already a star in the Arabic literary scene, to tell this story. I read it in one sitting.

A stunning achievement. - The National.

One of the most important contemporary Iraqi novelists and writers. - El Mundo.

A novel filled with details … with passion, homeland, revolution, and grief. It represents a landmark in the progression of Iraqi literature.

How do you preserve dignity amidst the relentless carnage and mutilation of modern Iraq? Told with a fresh transparency and tender insight, The President’s Gardens draws on the unfathomable resilience of the Iraqi people, leaving me speechless and humbled.