An Unsafe Haven

An Unsafe Haven
Nada Awar Jarrar

'Captivating …There's a breadth of humanity in An Unsafe Haven which is very moving. I loved the sense of Lebanon and of what is unique and precious about the Arab world' Helen DunmoreSet in contemporary Beirut, a rich, illuminating and deeply moving novel about a group of friends whose lives are shaped and affected daily by the war in Syria.Imagine trying to live a normal life in a world which changes daily and where nothing is certain …Hannah has deep roots in Beirut, the city of her birth and of her family. Her American husband, Peter, has certainty only in her. They thought that they were used to the upheavals in Lebanon, but as the war in neighbouring Syria enters its fifth year, the region’s increasingly fragile state begins to impact on their lives in wholly different ways.An incident in a busy street brings them into direct contact with a Syrian refugee and her son. As they work to reunite Fatima with her family, her story forces Hannah to face the crisis of the expanding refugee camps, and to question the very future of her homeland.And when their close friend Anas, an artist, arrives to open his exhibition, shocking news from his home in Damascus raises uncomfortable questions about his loyalty to his family and his country.Heartrending and beautifully written, An Unsafe Haven is a universal story of people whose lives are tested and transformed, as they wrestle with the anguish of war, displacement and loss, but also with the vital need for hope.

AN UNSAFE HAVEN

Nada Awar Jarrar

Copyright (#ua46d5611-62ea-5b29-b2b4-caa475ad3c19)

The Borough Press

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016

Nada Awar Jarrar asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016

Cover layout design: Holly Macdonald © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016. Cover photography © Mario Ramadan/EyeEm/Getty Images (steps) and Shutterstock.com (http://shutterstock.com/) (texture)

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

Source ISBN: 9780008165017

Ebook Edition ©July 2016 ISBN: 9780008165031

Version: 2016-06-01

Dedication (#ua46d5611-62ea-5b29-b2b4-caa475ad3c19)

For Bassem,

With all my love.

Table of Contents

Cover (#u0571efe0-a27a-5a04-ba66-5c793df23cf1)

Title Page (#ubf278bd2-4e2b-5daa-9aab-5f6c71a7367f)

Copyright (#u982f6734-f621-57fc-bf43-2347d62750da)

Dedication (#ucac3292d-6799-5841-bac0-ca3d55204a36)

Chapter 1 (#u5a8bd607-572b-5722-a9b4-0c329199c345)

Chapter 2 (#u9b424929-9019-545d-9248-64eb7f9e52c2)

Chapter 3 (#ud9a07ffa-2630-50cf-876b-6e8428b66974)

Chapter 4 (#u97aeb2a4-97e6-58a2-8825-d888ec1c4215)

Chapter 5 (#ua5e5e8cf-35f7-5d37-a3f6-9b0ac07f865d)

Chapter 6 (#ua20b4be1-0d95-551f-a0d4-db19375b6ce8)

Chapter 7 (#u423c0969-47af-5940-9411-db114371fdd1)

Chapter 8 (#ue267d6c1-fca2-56a7-8b38-41c52ef95ead)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)