The Singularity

The Singularity, the second novel (and first to be published in English) by Balsam Karam...is evidence of the unique genius of human creativity...Language is at the heart of The Singularity, moving as it does from chaos and cacophony to the simple purity of a single voice, which is one measure of its brilliance and its beauty. John Self, Observer The two narratives refract and then come together in a poetic convergence. There is a haunting, hushed tone to the novel, neatly evoked by Saskia Vogels translation from the Swedish, that probes the disorienting effects of exile. Anderson Tepper, New York Times In Karams beautiful and harrowing English-language debut, a pregnant woman witnesses another woman plummet to her death from a promenade above the seaThe slim, subtle, and somewhat abstract narrative gestures at grand tragedy in its depiction of the indifferent metropolis as a hole between what came to be and what could have been, where tourists pay little mind to a refugees for her missing daughter. This is powerful. Publishers Weekly starred review Karam infuses this perceptive and compassionate novel with a sense of perplexity that perfectly matches the lives of those she portrays. Declan ODriscoll, Irish Times The Singularity, deftly translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel, is an intense gem of a novel with a sophisticated structure. After a brave, even risky, prologue, which establishes the plot in a few pages, Balsam Karam moves deeper into the story of these anonymous women in an unidentified city who have been forced to flee their homes in an unnamed war. Francesca Peacock, Spectator Lyrical, devastating and completely original, The Singularity is a work of extraordinary vision and heart. Balsam Karams writing is formally inventive and stylistically breathtaking, and Saskia Vogel's translation does shining justice to its poetic precision and depths. Preti Taneja, author of Aftermath I dont know anyone who writes like Balsam Karam. She blows me away. Truly one of the most original and extraordinary voices to come out of Scandinavia in... forever. Youll realize twenty minutes after youve finished this book that youre still sitting there, holding on to it. Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove The Singularity by Balsam Karam is a novel about loss and longinga mother who misses her child, children who miss their mother, and all of those who miss their country as they try to feel the new earth in their new land. A deeply moving work of fiction from a true voice of Scandinavia. Shahrnush Parsipur, author of Women Without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran Balsam Karam writes at the limits of narrative, limning the boundary of loss where no space remains between bodies in the singularity. With a lucid intimacy, Karam braids a story of witness and motherhood that fractures from within only to rebuild memory and home on its own terms. The Singularity is a book of conviction where those who have been made to disappear find light and keep their secrets too. Shazia Hafiz Ramji, author of Port of Being Astringent, fuguelike.... A knotty, sui generis evocation of mothers feelings of fear and loss. Kirkus The Singularity reads as a great argument for realism: Karams world and its characters are excellently rendered in its harsh light. Reading the novel, one is confronted with the fact that the most essential part of mothering and humanity is inconsistent with being a bystander. Liz Wood, Word Without Borders Ultimately, Karams book illustrates in vivid detailin just 200 pages, intricate yet in accessible prosethe vivid trapped existence of refugees, of how they begin to live outside time and space, of how the world seems not to see or acknowledge their past or their presence, while denying them a future. Rache

Balsam Karam (b. 1983) is of Kurdish ancestry and has lived in Sweden since she was a young child. She is an author, librarian and university lecturer, and made her literary debut in 2018 with the critically acclaimed Event Horizon, which was shortlisted for the Katapult Prize. The Singularity was shortlisted for the August Prize and is her first English-language publication.