Livada din Damasc

Three generations of a Syrian family face war, revolt and exile. In 1995, young Aïssa rejects the propaganda his school teaches. At night, he joins a group led by a sheikh with new ideas. They meet in secret to learn about freedom. They also study human rights and democracy. Sixteen years later, the group helps lead Syria's revolt. Aïssa faces death and flees to France with a painful burden.

His niece Nermine now lives in Lebanon with her exiled family. She is twelve and wants to defy her community's strict rules. She has questions about her birth and the father she never knew. These fuel her anger. A strange message on her mother's phone leads her to search. Like her uncle, she will not stop seeking the family's hidden past.

This novel sets family secrets within history and the fight for freedom. It explores love, anger and the costs of resistance. One scene follows Aïssa's pregnant sister, Fulla, at a protest. There, she finds her voice. Men and women of different faiths march side by side. They give soldiers water and raise roses as signs of peace.

This is Camille Neveux's first novel. Its original title is Le verger de Damas. This edition forms part of the Folio series. Neveux wrote about the Arab world and Middle East for Journal du Dimanche. She studied politics in Strasbourg and trained as a journalist. She earned a degree in Arabic language and literature at Inalco. She lives in Paris with her husband and their three children. Her husband comes from Daraya, Syria.