Book review: An Unsafe Haven

AN UNSAFE HAVEN is the fourth novel from Lebanese author Nada Awar Jarrar, a previous Commonwealth Writers’ Prize winner for her first book Somewhere, Home. 

Nada Awar Jarrar

Borough Press, £12.99; ebook, £8.99

Based in contemporary Beirut, this latest release focuses on the ongoing refugee crisis born out of neighbouring war-torn Syria.

The story is based around the lives of its main characters, married couple Hannah and Peter, and their artist friend Anas, who find themselves wrestling with the complexities of displacement; questioning their priorities and their loyalty in a way that brings home the heartbreaking reality of humanity in the crossfire of war.

Each character is portrayed in wonderfully vivid detail, each with a unique sense of identity and home that they find challenged and changed as the war rages on.

An Unsafe Haven is an absolute triumph for Jarrar who is able to truthfully depict the story in a way that very few other writers could. Bold, tender and personal — this is an absolute must-read.