New novel portrays war on Syria’s Kobani
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Shiler publishing house in Qamishli in northeast Syria has recently released a new novel titled “A ticket back to Kobani” by the Syrian Kurdish author Jiwan Silo.
The novel portrays a family displaced from Kobani to Qamishli following the Islamic State’s (ISIS) attack against the city in 2014. The heroine of the novel returns on the day of solidarity with Kobani, celebrated on November 1 and enters her abandoned house once again to restore it. She puts flowers on her brother’s grave, who lost his life in the war the city went through.
In an exclusive talk with North Press, the author, Jiwan Silo, said the heroine of the novel is a journalist who meets by chance a lawyer from Qamishli who works in documenting Turkish violations. They decide to return together to Kobani. Hence, the memories of the heroine are the ticket back to the wounded revived city.
Silo said that “the novel is realistic. I lived in Kobani for a while, met the characters, and visited the places. Later, I changed some features of the characters according to the narrative.”
“The novel narrates the events of the war, in addition to portraying the social life. Kobani means much more than seeing it from one angle. It is a destroyed city, revived back to life. The residents who closed the door after they were displaced are now back to open it for a new beginning.”
Silo is a Kurdish author who was born in 1982 in Qamishli. He has several printed novels and stories.