"Zaid Shlah's Taqsim sings! This book's gripping melancholy and unique resonance in the face of departure and loss is tough and exciting; it tells us to 'leave the river, leave the grass, leave the gaze...the words rooting in your eyes, leave the sun...its lie--go and be something beautiful." Shlah takes us to the radiance of Arab history, cultures, religions..." Nathalie Handal