FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE
The new novel Planet Of Clay gives a haunting and unflinching look
at the horrors of war - the bombing, the starvation, the fear - all seen
through the eyes of Rima, a young girl with a vibrant
imagination.--NPR
"Planet of Clay is a devastating novel about human resilience and
fragility in a time of war."--Foreword Reviews, starred review
Rima, a young girl from Damascus, longs to walk, to be free to follow
the will of her feet, but instead is perpetually constrained. Rima finds
refuge in a fantasy world full of colored crayons, secret planets, and
The Little Prince, reciting passages of the Qur'an like a mantra as
everything and everyone around her is blown to bits. Since Rima hardly
ever speaks, people think she's crazy, but she is no fool--the madness
is in the battered city around her. One day while taking a bus through
Damascus, a soldier opens fire and her mother is killed. Rima, wounded,
is taken to a military hospital before her brother leads her to the
besieged area of Ghouta--where, between bombings, she writes her story.
In Planet of Clay, Samar Yazbek offers a surreal depiction of the
horrors taking place in Syria, in vivid and poetic language and with a
sharp eye for detail and beauty.
