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Eva Nour
 

The Stray Cats of Homs

A haun ng narra ve from the heart of the Syrian  

conflict. Based on true events. 
 

‘In Arabic, a cat has seven souls, and in English they are meant to have
nine lives. You must have had both nine lives and seven souls, or else I
just don’t know how you’ve survived.’

Growing up in Homs, Syria, in the 1980s Sami’s childhood is like that

of any ordinary child’s. In 2000, when Bashar al‐Assad comes to pow‐
er, things change, and not for the be er. Sami is conscripted into the
military and trains as a cartographer, shielded from the worst horrors
being commi ed by the army. As the seeds of the Arab Spring are
sown in 2011, Sami’s military service ends and he hears of the wave
of demonstra ons around the country, spreading into Egypt, Tunisia,
and Libya. Then, he receives a text message from his girlfriend, Sarah,  
Rights Sold 
who is par cipa ng in the demonstra ons: ‘They are firing on us!’ Italian: Piemme 
 
The full horror hits: Syria is heading into open civil war, with govern‐ Publica on 
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ment troops killing its own ci zens. What Sami decides to do next will October 2018
echo down the years, and shape his en re future. And he does not 300 pages
choose the easy route… Material 
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THE STRAY CATS OF HOMS is a heart‐rending, earth‐sha ering novel English Full Transla on
Synopsis
based on real life events about the impossible choices we make, the Le er from the Author 
hope of revolu on and enduring love amidst the death and despair of
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war. Influenced by Imre Kertész’s witness literature and Samar Available
Yazbek’s Syrian reportage, it is also reminiscent of Khaled Hosseini’s
The Kite Runner and Susan Abulhawa’s Mornings in Jenin, and for fans
of Emily Robbins’ A Word for Love.

Eva Nour is a pseudonym. THE STRAY CATS OF HOMS is Eva’s debut novel, and is
wri en for and with the real‐life Sami, a Syrian photojournalist. Today, Eva and Contact 
Sami share a life together in Paris. Elisabet Brännström
elisabet.brannstrom@bonnierrights.se
bonnierrights.se | info@bonnierrights.se