Haddad, Saleem - Floodlines

Floodlines

Author: Saleem Haddad

Genre: Literary Fiction, Adult, Contemporary

Pages: 347

Publisher: Europa Editions

Release Date: February 24, 2026

Format: Paperback

Size (in cm): 21.1 (height) x 13.5 (width) x 2.5 (depth)

ISBN: 9781787706132

Synopsis:

A sweeping, multi-generational saga that traces the fractured bonds between three Iraqi-British sisters

The new novel from the award-winning author of Guapa; and a sweeping, multi-generational saga that traces the fractured bonds between three Iraqi-British sisters

In the summer of 2014, three estranged Iraqi-British sisters are drawn back into each other’s orbits through the discovery of their late father’s lost paintings.

As Mediha, Zainab, and Ishtar lay claim to his legacy—an inheritance laced with exile, betrayal, and an Iraq they no longer recognise—Zainab’s son Nizar, a war correspondent haunted by his time on the front lines, returns to the family fold. As summer bleeds into autumn and the truth about the paintings unfurls, the family is forced to confront the personal and political betrayals that tore them apart.

Spanning continents and decades, Floodlines grapples with grief and memory, and charts the emotional and political aftershocks of a century of war and revolution in Iraq and beyond. Inspired by the artistic legacy of Haddad’s great uncle, the Iraqi modernist painter Jewad Selim, Floodlines explores family, queerness, and the wounds of (neo)colonialism in haunting, visceral prose.

"A literary voice capable of narrating untold stories of the modern gay experience, from one of the most complicated parts of the world."—Attitude Magazine

LGBT Themes:

• Sapphic

Relevant Tags:

Contemporary, Romance, Literary Fiction, LGBT, Iraq, Hope, Grief, Adult, Family, Heritage, Sapphic