Alligator and Other Stories

<p><b>Shortlisted for the 2021 S</b><b>wansea University Dylan Thomas Prize</b><br><br><b>Shortlisted for a 2021 James Tait Black Award<br><br>Shortlisted for the PEN/Robert W Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection 2021</b><br><br><b>''Sardonic, monstrous, tender'' <i>Sunday Times</i></b><br><br><b>''Startling . . . profound'' <i>Daily Mail</i></b><br><br>In <i>Alligator and Other Stories</i>, Dima Alzayat captures luminously how it feels to be ‘other’: as a Syrian, as an Arab, as an immigrant, as a woman. Each one of the nine stories collected here is a snapshot of those moments when unusual circumstances suddenly distinguish us from our neighbours, when our difference is thrown into relief.<br><br>Here are ‘dangerous’ women transgressing, missing children in 1970s New York, a family who were once Syrian but have now lost their name, and a young woman about to discover the hollowness of the American dream. At its centre lies ‘Alligator’: a remarkable compilation of real and invented sources, which rescues from history the story of a Syrian American couple who were murdered at the hands of the state.<br><br>Alzayat explores experiences that are startling and real, delivering an emotional punch that lingers long after reading.</p>