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Fire in Every Direction
From the renowned Palestinian scholar, a memoir of political and queer awakening, of impossible love amidst generations of displacement, and what it means to return home.
Both a love story and a coming-of-age tale that spans countries and continents, Fire in Every Direction balances humor and loss, nostalgia and hope, as it takes us from the Middle East to London, and from 1948 to the present. Tareq Baconi crafts a deeply intimate, unforgettable portrait of how a political consciousness—desire and resistance—is passed down through generations.
In 1948, Tareq’s grandmother, Eva, would flee Haifa as Zionist militias seized the city. In the late 1970s, she would flee Beirut with her daughter, Rima, as the country was in the throes of a civil war. In Amman, the family would eventually obtain the comfort of middle-class life—still, a young Tareq would feel by cultures of silence, by a sense of not belonging, by his own growing awareness that he is in love with his childhood best friend, Ramzi.
After relocating to London for college, Tareq hopes to put aside his past, and begins to work through an understanding of self as a queer man. Yet as Operation Iraqi Freedom radicalizes young people around the world towards anti-war protest, history comes back to hushed whispers overheard, stories of his mother’s years as an activist in Beirut and her return to Palestine during a moment of peace.
Living between the region and London, Tareq fits in neither and feels alienated from both. Queerness is policed back in Amman, just as his Palestinian-ness is abroad. These gradual estrangements escalate, forcing him to grapple with what it means to live in liminal spaces, and rethink the meaning of home. Eventually, tracing the journey of his family before him, Tareq returns to Palestine.
This is an account of finding oneself through histories of dispossession and reclaiming what has been silenced.
Both a love story and a coming-of-age tale that spans countries and continents, Fire in Every Direction balances humor and loss, nostalgia and hope, as it takes us from the Middle East to London, and from 1948 to the present. Tareq Baconi crafts a deeply intimate, unforgettable portrait of how a political consciousness—desire and resistance—is passed down through generations.
In 1948, Tareq’s grandmother, Eva, would flee Haifa as Zionist militias seized the city. In the late 1970s, she would flee Beirut with her daughter, Rima, as the country was in the throes of a civil war. In Amman, the family would eventually obtain the comfort of middle-class life—still, a young Tareq would feel by cultures of silence, by a sense of not belonging, by his own growing awareness that he is in love with his childhood best friend, Ramzi.
After relocating to London for college, Tareq hopes to put aside his past, and begins to work through an understanding of self as a queer man. Yet as Operation Iraqi Freedom radicalizes young people around the world towards anti-war protest, history comes back to hushed whispers overheard, stories of his mother’s years as an activist in Beirut and her return to Palestine during a moment of peace.
Living between the region and London, Tareq fits in neither and feels alienated from both. Queerness is policed back in Amman, just as his Palestinian-ness is abroad. These gradual estrangements escalate, forcing him to grapple with what it means to live in liminal spaces, and rethink the meaning of home. Eventually, tracing the journey of his family before him, Tareq returns to Palestine.
This is an account of finding oneself through histories of dispossession and reclaiming what has been silenced.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published November 4, 2025
44 people are currently reading
4989 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 25, 2025
it's in times like these that memoirs are more important than ever
(thanks to the publisher for the arc)
(thanks to the publisher for the arc)
November 4, 2025
it’s honestly a rarity that i pick up a nonfiction book and feel completely and utterly speechless, bereft, and also transformed, but WOW. this was an incredible, deeply personal, and moving testament to both the queer and Palestinian identity, and a man’s journey as he reckons with both over the course of a lifetime.
this book is a multidimensional, multifaceted wonder, as it's interspersed with splices of stories from Tareq's grandmother who fled Palestine during the Nakba, Tareq's mother and father who fled Beirut at the start of the civil war in Lebanon, and Tareq himself, fleeing in a way his own queer identity as he simultaneously grapples with an inheritance of grief and resistance as a Palestinian in diaspora.
Tareq's profoundly vulnerable unpacking of both of his identities — and the ways in which they intrinsically intersect — is not only thematically compelling, it’s written so beautifully and so intimately it feels at times like a personal diary — something Tareq comments on in his acknowledgments, noting that writing is not a task to be done, but a life to be lived — and what a life it is, as he shares generational history and legacies of fire passed down from his mother, his wrangling with his queerness in the face of 3eib, and the reckonings, both big and small, that make up a journey.
there are so many threads that tie this story together with themes of transformative love — that which is unrequited, given to a best friend unwilling or unable to make space for it, that of a grandmother praying for her grandson’s well-being, that of a parent who sought to insulate their children from a legacy of grief and a lost home, that of himself, as he comes to terms with who he is, and ultimately that of a homeland only known secondhand.
nothing i say about this beautiful story could ever do it justice, and i’m so grateful to atria for allowing me the opportunity to read an advance copy. this releases on november 4, and i encourage any of you looking for something beautiful, transformative, and moving-to-the-point-of-tears to pick it up when it releases.
this book is a multidimensional, multifaceted wonder, as it's interspersed with splices of stories from Tareq's grandmother who fled Palestine during the Nakba, Tareq's mother and father who fled Beirut at the start of the civil war in Lebanon, and Tareq himself, fleeing in a way his own queer identity as he simultaneously grapples with an inheritance of grief and resistance as a Palestinian in diaspora.
Tareq's profoundly vulnerable unpacking of both of his identities — and the ways in which they intrinsically intersect — is not only thematically compelling, it’s written so beautifully and so intimately it feels at times like a personal diary — something Tareq comments on in his acknowledgments, noting that writing is not a task to be done, but a life to be lived — and what a life it is, as he shares generational history and legacies of fire passed down from his mother, his wrangling with his queerness in the face of 3eib, and the reckonings, both big and small, that make up a journey.
there are so many threads that tie this story together with themes of transformative love — that which is unrequited, given to a best friend unwilling or unable to make space for it, that of a grandmother praying for her grandson’s well-being, that of a parent who sought to insulate their children from a legacy of grief and a lost home, that of himself, as he comes to terms with who he is, and ultimately that of a homeland only known secondhand.
nothing i say about this beautiful story could ever do it justice, and i’m so grateful to atria for allowing me the opportunity to read an advance copy. this releases on november 4, and i encourage any of you looking for something beautiful, transformative, and moving-to-the-point-of-tears to pick it up when it releases.
Read
August 3, 2025A powerful memoir of queer and Palestinian reckoning. Tareq Baconi creates 'a gaze of our own' by bringing his open heart to a tough confrontation with histories both intimate and diasporic. An important contribution to our many literatures.
November 12, 2025
It felt like a privilege to read this book.
A heartbreakingly beautiful memoir about identity - Baconi’s cultural identity as a Palestinian and his identity as a Queer man- and how they intersect. Absolutely stunning.
I’ll be recommending this for our library immediately and recommending it to everyone.
Thank you Washington Square Press for the review copy!
A heartbreakingly beautiful memoir about identity - Baconi’s cultural identity as a Palestinian and his identity as a Queer man- and how they intersect. Absolutely stunning.
I’ll be recommending this for our library immediately and recommending it to everyone.
Thank you Washington Square Press for the review copy!
November 13, 2025
so tender and painful. i will need to pick this up again soon.
November 30, 2025
4 stars. Wow, not always the biggest fans of memoirs, but this one was very intimate. Portrays perfectly how the people and places in our life shape and mold us to who we are today. As always, thank you Atria Books for the earc.
December 4, 2025
I'm a simple woman. If Ta-Nehisi Coates recommends a book, I'm going to check it out.
And I'm going to love it.
And I'm going to love it.
Read
October 6, 2025"Fire In Every Direction," by renowned Palestinian scholar Tareq Barconi, is a deeply moving, beautifully written memoir about identity, love, and belonging. Spanning generations and continents, Barconi weaves personal and political history with humor, heart, and honesty. This story of queerness, family, and the search for home is intimate and unforgettable. This is a book that will stay with readers long after the final page.
December 22, 2025
I've been having a memoir-heavy year, and this is def in my top 3 (of all memoir reads). Baconi does so much justice his family's history in how he weaves together their experiences alongside his own in a way that doesn't cheapen or lessen either one. especially with the subject of queerness in the context of arabness, it is layered and complicated and all too easy to box it into what is acceptable for the western-centric understanding, and Baconi dodges these "diaspora" tropes expertly at every turn. I am most touched by how much this memoir answers questions that I've always had about how others like me lived their lives in the context of "home"land/region, and I am grateful for the opportunity to glimpse his life that mirrors my own in many ways.
to be queer and palestinian ❤️🩹❤️🩹
to be queer and palestinian ❤️🩹❤️🩹
September 12, 2025
Fire in Every Direction is that memoir. Powerful, important, and one that should be told and read.
The abstract of the book reads: "From the renowned Palestinian scholar, a memoir of political and queer awakening, of impossible love amidst generations of displacement, and what it means to return home."
So I knew I had to read it.
The voice of the narrator/author is quite subtle but at the same time powerful.
I loved his journey of self-discovery; it was personal and raw.
The writing style itself was quite engaging and I could not put the book down
The abstract of the book reads: "From the renowned Palestinian scholar, a memoir of political and queer awakening, of impossible love amidst generations of displacement, and what it means to return home."
So I knew I had to read it.
The voice of the narrator/author is quite subtle but at the same time powerful.
I loved his journey of self-discovery; it was personal and raw.
The writing style itself was quite engaging and I could not put the book down
August 10, 2025
Honest and raw.
I had no idea who Baconi was when I entered this Goodreads giveaway but I can relate somewhat to living in the margins, so I decided to check this memoir out.
Really glad I did. A really well done and fascinating look at how people and places can shape us, and how to find home in liminal spaces.
I had no idea who Baconi was when I entered this Goodreads giveaway but I can relate somewhat to living in the margins, so I decided to check this memoir out.
Really glad I did. A really well done and fascinating look at how people and places can shape us, and how to find home in liminal spaces.
did-not-finish
November 10, 2025Thank you to Washington Square Press and Edelweiss for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review
DNFed @ 23%. Baconi's writing and I just weren't getting along. Here's what you should consider about the writing in FIRE IN EVERY DIRECTION to decide whether it's something you'll appreciate or not:
1. Baconi writes about scenes from his childhood from the perspective of a close first-person child narrator. In other words, his younger self narrates his childhood observations and interactions. This narrative choice didn't work for me, because I couldn't tell what both I and Baconi's older self were supposed to be getting out of these childhood memories.
That is not to say that a close first-person child narrator is never successful in a memoir, or always puts me off. An example of when this type of narratorial voice worked for me is Jennette McCurdy in I’m Glad My Mom Died. In IGMMD, McCurdy describes the SA scenes from the naive perspective of her younger self, yet both McCurdy-the-author and the reader understands the horror of what's going on, and why this choice of narrator at this given time is so powerful. In FIRE, I wasn't able to figure out for what purpose Baconi was choosing to narrate some childhood memories from the perspective of his younger self. Is it a commentary on the lingering generational effects of ethnic cleansing, war, and displacement on children? Is it an illustration of childhood events that later helped him realize he is gay?
2. Somewhat disjointed writing. This is present both in the nonchronological structure, jumping back and forth between Baconi's timeline and his parents'/grandparents', as well as in his sentence-level writing. I don't mind nonchronological memoirs, as long as sufficient exposition is given to more thoroughly ground me in a sense of space and time for each different timeline, as well as better connections across the chapters of each timeline. But I wasn't really getting this from FIRE, with the result that I found myself losing interest as the chapters progressed and I still couldn't get a clear mental picture of what was going on.
There's disjointedness at the sentence level as well. Names were introduced, stuff happened, then we moved on to a different setting/time, and my eyes were crossing as I struggled to follow along. In the first quarter or so that I managed to read, I found it odd that Baconi-as-narrator didn't do much of anything; rather, things happened to him, or around him, and he was carried along in their wake. I don't know if this a deliberate stylistic writing choice or not, but I found it difficult to be immersed in the story he was telling.
-
Baconi's writing reminds me of Hala Alyan's, so if you liked both her fiction and nonfiction, I think FIRE IN EVERY DIRECTION will be up your alley. As for me, I've attempted to read both Alyan's fiction and nonfiction and DNFed all, and if it weren't for Isabella Hammad's splendid blurb at the beginning of FIRE, I don't think I would have been able to know what was going on, nor why FIRE was written. This is not to diminish the significance of Baconi's memoir or his identity, but rather to say that not every book is for every reader out there in terms of writing style. FIRE is bound to find an audience that will be awed by his honesty, lyricism, and resilience, and I, too, will find Palestinian memoirs that blow me away.
DNFed @ 23%. Baconi's writing and I just weren't getting along. Here's what you should consider about the writing in FIRE IN EVERY DIRECTION to decide whether it's something you'll appreciate or not:
1. Baconi writes about scenes from his childhood from the perspective of a close first-person child narrator. In other words, his younger self narrates his childhood observations and interactions. This narrative choice didn't work for me, because I couldn't tell what both I and Baconi's older self were supposed to be getting out of these childhood memories.
That is not to say that a close first-person child narrator is never successful in a memoir, or always puts me off. An example of when this type of narratorial voice worked for me is Jennette McCurdy in I’m Glad My Mom Died. In IGMMD, McCurdy describes the SA scenes from the naive perspective of her younger self, yet both McCurdy-the-author and the reader understands the horror of what's going on, and why this choice of narrator at this given time is so powerful. In FIRE, I wasn't able to figure out for what purpose Baconi was choosing to narrate some childhood memories from the perspective of his younger self. Is it a commentary on the lingering generational effects of ethnic cleansing, war, and displacement on children? Is it an illustration of childhood events that later helped him realize he is gay?
2. Somewhat disjointed writing. This is present both in the nonchronological structure, jumping back and forth between Baconi's timeline and his parents'/grandparents', as well as in his sentence-level writing. I don't mind nonchronological memoirs, as long as sufficient exposition is given to more thoroughly ground me in a sense of space and time for each different timeline, as well as better connections across the chapters of each timeline. But I wasn't really getting this from FIRE, with the result that I found myself losing interest as the chapters progressed and I still couldn't get a clear mental picture of what was going on.
There's disjointedness at the sentence level as well. Names were introduced, stuff happened, then we moved on to a different setting/time, and my eyes were crossing as I struggled to follow along. In the first quarter or so that I managed to read, I found it odd that Baconi-as-narrator didn't do much of anything; rather, things happened to him, or around him, and he was carried along in their wake. I don't know if this a deliberate stylistic writing choice or not, but I found it difficult to be immersed in the story he was telling.
-
Baconi's writing reminds me of Hala Alyan's, so if you liked both her fiction and nonfiction, I think FIRE IN EVERY DIRECTION will be up your alley. As for me, I've attempted to read both Alyan's fiction and nonfiction and DNFed all, and if it weren't for Isabella Hammad's splendid blurb at the beginning of FIRE, I don't think I would have been able to know what was going on, nor why FIRE was written. This is not to diminish the significance of Baconi's memoir or his identity, but rather to say that not every book is for every reader out there in terms of writing style. FIRE is bound to find an audience that will be awed by his honesty, lyricism, and resilience, and I, too, will find Palestinian memoirs that blow me away.
December 8, 2025
3.5/5 stars
Thank you Atria Books for the gifted copy!
Fire in Every Direction is a memoir by a queer, Palestinian man. It follows the life of his family from the Nakba to current day.
Disclaimer in advance: I struggle immensely with enjoying memoirs. I did not really enjoy this one, but great for you if you did.
The parts I liked the most about this memoir were the history of Palestine and Baconi’s family. I especially loved the way he tells his grandmother’s story of fleeing Palestine.
However, my enjoyment quickly trailed off through the rest of the book. There were certain themes that I would’ve loved to see him discuss more but were ultimately just brief mentions.
The titular theme of “fire in every direction” never came to mean anything (as far as I could tell). It could have been a much stronger book if that theme had a little more punch rather than being briefly mentioned.
For me, personally, I found Baconi’s love life to be boring (and very sketchy at times). And unfortunately for me, the story of his love life makes up most of the book.
If you’re a fan of memoirs, this book will be much more enjoyable for you.
CW: genocide & war; death & grief; misogyny; homophobia; racism; minor/adult relationship
Thank you Atria Books for the gifted copy!
Fire in Every Direction is a memoir by a queer, Palestinian man. It follows the life of his family from the Nakba to current day.
Disclaimer in advance: I struggle immensely with enjoying memoirs. I did not really enjoy this one, but great for you if you did.
The parts I liked the most about this memoir were the history of Palestine and Baconi’s family. I especially loved the way he tells his grandmother’s story of fleeing Palestine.
However, my enjoyment quickly trailed off through the rest of the book. There were certain themes that I would’ve loved to see him discuss more but were ultimately just brief mentions.
The titular theme of “fire in every direction” never came to mean anything (as far as I could tell). It could have been a much stronger book if that theme had a little more punch rather than being briefly mentioned.
For me, personally, I found Baconi’s love life to be boring (and very sketchy at times). And unfortunately for me, the story of his love life makes up most of the book.
If you’re a fan of memoirs, this book will be much more enjoyable for you.
CW: genocide & war; death & grief; misogyny; homophobia; racism; minor/adult relationship
November 5, 2025
Most people fail to write a good memoir because they lack the curiosity to find out what REALLY shapes the characters in their lives. Telling your own story is easy... This happened, then this, then this. But taking the time to listen and understand your hereditary struggles is much harder. Especially because it forces you to turn the people who matter most to you into characters, highlighting their strongest moments, explaining their weakest. Baconi does a great job of explaining the cyclical nature of his and his family's struggles through clear, crisp stories. He also does a great job of being honest with his own insecurities, especially through heartbreak and sexuality, while also imbibing some of his mother's righteous anger.
December 1, 2025
I was so fortunate to hear Baconi speak with Noura Erakat at Penn; there I was introduced to the beauty of Baconi's prose.
Everyone of every gender will learn from this book, to be sure. Erakat spoke of how she was especially moved by Baconi's stories of his mother and grandmother, and I confess I felt the same. His courageous stories of "darting shadows" in their lives and in his life: these moved me to tears.
These pages have sharp poignancy and pain and also hope and joy. Stunningly beautiful.
Everyone of every gender will learn from this book, to be sure. Erakat spoke of how she was especially moved by Baconi's stories of his mother and grandmother, and I confess I felt the same. His courageous stories of "darting shadows" in their lives and in his life: these moved me to tears.
These pages have sharp poignancy and pain and also hope and joy. Stunningly beautiful.
November 26, 2025
An extremely well written coming of age memoir. But more than that, its an examination of the intersection of the private and the public, the personal and the political. It examines displacement, refugee, immigration, dispersal, exile, genocide, etc all in the context of a personal story of growing up as gay Christian third generation Palestinian refugee. Well worth the read and worth pushing through the occasional over thinking and over writing.
November 26, 2025
I was completely absorbed in your story, it’s cinematic and emotionally charged in all the right ways. The atmosphere you build is incredible.
As an artist who takes commissions on comic/webtoon adaptation, I couldn’t help but imagine how visually stunning it could be. Every scene feels storyboarded already.
If that interests you, I’d love to talk on Instagram (@eve_verse_) or Discord (bennett_lol).
As an artist who takes commissions on comic/webtoon adaptation, I couldn’t help but imagine how visually stunning it could be. Every scene feels storyboarded already.
If that interests you, I’d love to talk on Instagram (@eve_verse_) or Discord (bennett_lol).
October 22, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Washington Square Press for the eARC!
While framing of this book and the way it jumped around in time didn't work for me, I would still encourage you to pick this book up. I think Baconi has an important story to share, and his writing is beautiful. He's great at evoking emotion and bringing you into the story.
While framing of this book and the way it jumped around in time didn't work for me, I would still encourage you to pick this book up. I think Baconi has an important story to share, and his writing is beautiful. He's great at evoking emotion and bringing you into the story.
November 12, 2025
“The steel scaffolding that I had painstakingly assembled to hold me up, like the blueprints of my engineering design sheets, slid, molten and fluid, down my body. Hot metal that ran across my chest and my back and between my thighs. I was amorphous, undefinable, oozing out of the contours of my skin.”
I devoured this.
I devoured this.
stopped-reading-unfinished
November 21, 2025I tried and tried to finish this and finally gave up. I found the narrator (the author) really hard to listen to. There was something about the pacing that I just could not get into. I also felt the story jumped around a good bit.
I hope other people like this, because I’m sure he has a lot of good reflections.
I hope other people like this, because I’m sure he has a lot of good reflections.
December 29, 2025
Weaves the geopolitical and personal into a gorgeous personal story and, most impacting, for me, a hopeful vision of the future where queer lives, Palestinian lives and the lives of marginalized communities every where are visible and free.
July 29, 2025
Tareq weaves the personal and the political effortlessly. The result is a book that's emotionally moving without being disempowering - it's just gorgeous.
October 28, 2025
powerful, transforming, and interesting memoir by an incredible scholar focusing on his identity as a palestinian and as a member of the queer community. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.
November 4, 2025
A moving memoir of one man’s yearning to understand himself and the world around him. Gorgeous writing!
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.
November 30, 2025
Gorgeous. I love a memoir 😭
December 8, 2025
Thank you Atria for the gifted copy of this book!
A truly phenomenal book about the intersection of being gay and Palestinian.
Such a moving memoir, everyone needs to read this!
A truly phenomenal book about the intersection of being gay and Palestinian.
Such a moving memoir, everyone needs to read this!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews