<p>‘[W]ill appeal to fans of Elena Ferrante, Zadie Smith, and Kamila Shamsie … An immersive and thought-provoking read with a strong plot and relatable characters, and which explores urgent contemporary questions around racism and sexism in society.’</p>
New Books in German
<p>‘This worthy novel about immigration and racism in contemporary Germany is tough going. Bazyar is astute in her depiction of a contemporary climate that explicitly “others” migrants.’</p>
- Claire Allfree, Daily Mail
<p>‘Sends us on a journey of exploration, right into the abyss of German identity politics — a magnificent book.’</p>
Süddeutsche Zeitung
<p>‘A smart, important novel that gives you a caress on the cheek and a punch in the jaw as you read it. The amazing thing is that in the end you want more of both.’</p>
- Pierre Jarawan author of <em>Song for the Missing</em>,
<p>‘Shida Bazyar tells us — uncompromisingly, powerfully, and accusingly — what it means to have one’s origins constantly questioned.’</p>
- Judges’ comments for The German Book Prize,
<p>‘It tackles the pressing issues of our time, and yet it is timeless. This is a story of friendship, marginalisation and society's blindness to its own deep-seated problems … A triumph. It has all the makings of great literature, literature that will endure … <em>Sisters in Arms</em> demonstrates that all the talk about the lack of social relevance of art and literature is a fatal mistake.’</p>
- Gerrit Wustmann, Qantara
<p>‘An explosive feminist and anti-racist novel about the importance of friendship … <em>Sisters ini Arms</em> is a provocative, uncompromising, and moving novel about the extraordinary alliance between three young women and the only thing that makes a self-determined life possible in a society that doesn't tolerate otherness: unconditional friendship.’</p>
Female
<p>‘Humane, relatable, and self-aware, <i>Sisters in Arms</i> is an involving novel that indicts polite neoliberalism and open racism alike for the ways in which people in contemporary societies are forced apart.’</p>
Foreword Reviews
<p>‘<em>Sisters in Arms</em> is a gripping and immersive novel which will linger in your mind long after you finish it.’</p>
Goethe-Institut Glasgow