The Bleeds
$19.95
Publication Date: October 1, 2017
244 pages
7.5 x 5 Inches
ISBN: 9781550654783
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Trade Paperback $19.95 |
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Ebook $19.95 |
Power, intrigue and father-son rivalry.
From the author of the widely acclaimed Niko comes a fresh take on the political thriller, an allegory of power and privilege resurrected from the thwarted ideals of the Arab Spring. In The Bleeds, Nasrallah overturns the conventions of the political novel to focus on the corroded luxury and power structures framing the lives of those most affected by war and insurrection.
For half a century, the Bleeds have ruled with an iron fist. Once hailed as the founders of an independence movement, they’ve long since cemented into corrupt autocrats upheld by the foreign investors who manage their region’s uranium trade. The aging Mustafa Bleed orchestrated the election of his son, Vadim, but Vadim’s first term has proven he’s more interested in the casinos of Monaco than his new role as leader. Now that an election has set the stage for revolt, opposition leaders, foreign diplomats, and journalists are fomenting a revolution against the Bleeds. All the while, father and son grapple with bonds of love, loyalty, betrayal, and paranoia.
Reviews
“The Bleeds isn’t a mere burlesque of a dictatorship, but is instead a fierce political satire with real teeth.” -Jeff Miller, Montreal Review of Books
“Nasrallah invites readers to imagine themselves imbedded in power structures—not for the purpose of humanizing dictators, but as a means of jarring us out of our own polarized ideologies.” -Shenaz Kermalli, Quill & Quire
“Nasrallah’s construction of the book shows how multifaceted revolutions can be, and how the ideal of an information-and-citizenry-propelled deposition of corrupt leadership is often a total illusion…. The Bleeds delivers a damning vision of freedom as merely a useful concept to discuss loudly while quietly seizing absolute power.” -Naben Ruthnum, Literary Review of Canada
“Nasrallah’s biggest coup comes out of his biggest risk … He represents both Mustafa and Vadim in the first-person, alternating their voices to increasingly dramatic effect and universalizing both his protagonists to the point where you can forget for pages at a time that this particular father and son happen to control a nation’s fate.” Ian McGillis, Montreal Gazette
“It’s beautifully put together. Fascinating and entertaining and disturbing all at once. Nothing feels superfluous; not a line is out of place. Nasrallah switches tone effortlessly from newspaper report to blog and back and forth between Bleed senior and junior, who both speak in the first person but are entirely distinct and instantly identifiable. Drama builds with each change in perspective.” – Peter McCambridge, Quebec Reads
About the Author
Dimitri Nasrallah is the author of four novels. His most recent, 2022’s Hotline, was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and shortlisted for CBC’s Canada Reads. He was born in Lebanon in 1977, and moved to Canada in 1988. His previous books include The Bleeds, Niko, and Blackbodying.
Other books by Dimitri Nasrallah: Niko: A Novel, Hotline
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