A review by evanlorant
The Clothesline Swing by Danny Ramadan

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this is a beautiful novel with a vibrant beating heart at its centre. it read to me as more of a short story collection into which real life started to gradually intrude. 
the writing is beautiful and vivid, it conjured the streets of damascus in my mind. at times, it felt cliche and certainly was a little bit repetitive in places. but it was also raw in that way, and balanced the time between polished poetic writing and the raw emotion of the protagonist. 
i loved to read the stories of queer people across the middle east—albeit fictional—and despite the novels tragedy, i never found myself walking away feeling depressed or crushed by the stories. i also really enjoyed the blurring of past and present/fiction and nonfiction, especially with hakawati’s belief that he gives his soul to his partner through the stories. definitely difficult stories handled with beauty and care, with an eye toward the future informed by the past