Book review: Death Is Hard Work, by Khaled Khalifa

In a recent interview with The National newspaper, based in the United Arab Emirates, the Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa explained that he continued to live in Damascus not because he had to, but because, in spite of offers to live elsewhere, he chose to. “This is really down to a personal choice,” he said. “I am not trying to say or prove anything.”He also added that, while there has been no fighting in Damascus, “it doesn’t mean that we don’t know there is a conflict going on. We are careful here in all that we do.” He has had his books banned by the Syrian government in the past, yet he remains hopeful that the future for literature in his country is bright, and he has spoken of a wish for artists and the government to come to a compromise over freedom of speech.