An enthralling tale of love and courage that weaves through the mountains of Syria, the valleys of Lebanon, the encircling seas of Turkey, the heat of Egypt and finally, to the hope of a new home in Canada.

The Clothesline Swing tells the epic story of two lovers anchored to the memory of a dying Syria. One is Hakawati, the storyteller, keeping life in forward motion by relaying remembered fables to his dying partner. Each night he weaves stories of his childhood in Damascus, of the cruelty he has endured for his sexuality, of leaving home, of war, of his fated meeting with his lover. Meanwhile Death himself, in his dark cloak, shares the house with the two men, eavesdropping on their secrets as he awaits their final undoing.

'A remarkable read. Danny Ramadan opens a world for his readers and guides them through it with sensitivity and suspense.' Bernhard Schlink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Reader

'The Clothesline Swing is studded with the kind of graceful poetry that makes the most hardened heart soar like a silktail . . Ramadan has gifted his readers with a resistance manifesto coded with love.' Diriye Osman, 2014 Polari Prize Winner

'By turns sombre, fantastical, violent and tender, Ahmad Danny Ramadan's English-language debut is a gay son's conflicted love letter to Syria . . .' Globe and Mail