The narrator of THE SIRENS OF BAGHDAD is a young man from a small desert village who is pulled into the radical insurgency engulfing Iraq. Forced to leave the University of Baghdad when the Americans invade, he has returned to his village where he witnesses three horrifying events that transform him. First, American soldiers at a checkpoint kill the sweet and beloved “village idiot.” Several days later, an American plane bombs a wedding on the outskirts of the village. The most devastating incident takes place in his own home, when soldiers looking for terrorists humiliate his father in full view of the terrified family. Consumed by the desire to avenge this unspeakable act, the young man goes to Baghdad to join the resistance.

Searching for a place to stay in a city going up in flames, the narrator is taken in by a radical group and convinces them that he is willing to do anything to help their cause. After proving his mettle by participating in several attacks, he is sent to Beirut to undertake a super-secret mission which will take him to London. As the time to board the plane nears, the narrator struggles to reconcile the act with his own moral principles.

A masterful and chilling look at violence and its effects on ordinary people, THE SIRENS OF BAGHDAD probes situations few writers dare examine. As powerfully written as Khadra's previous novels, it explores humanity's basest acts and shows that even in the most horrific circumstances, the good in human nature can prevail.

Praise for The Attack:
“[Khadra] may well be the most powerful and serious writer in French since his Algerian compatriot Albert Camus.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

Praise for The Swallows of Kabul:
“A chilling portrait of fundamentalism run amok and its fallout on ordinary people.”
—The New York Times