Nihad Siries
(Syria, 1950) was a construction engineer before becoming a renowned writer in the Arab world. In addition to novels he writes popular tv series. His novel The Silence and the Roar (2004), this year appeared in a Dutch translation and is still of topical interest. Siries' great strength is that he succeeds in turning fear into humor. The international press compared him to Orwell, Kafka and Kundera. In his novel Siries describes the commemmoration of the twentieth year in power of a ruler. A cheering crowd blocks the streets. The writer Fathi Chin, a man in his thirties and an opponent of the regime, wants to visit his mother but is swept along by the frantic crowd. When a woman falls, he helps her and ends up in a hospital and in the tentacles of bureaucracy. He ends the day in the arms of the beautiful Lama - in a country where sensuality between two walls is the only freedom left.
Past events
The Text of my Life: Nihad Sirees
Which texts from world literature has Syrian writer Nihad Sirees cherished as long as he lives? This can be a poem, an excerpt from a novel or a song-text. He discusses the text with the audience. Moderated by Wim Brands and Simone van Saarloos. In English.
The Turning Point
Architect Andries Samuel, documentary maker and BBC reporter Aminatta Forna and building engineer Nihad Sirees decided to turn to fiction at a certain point in their lives. Mathijs Deen wants to know why. In English.
