“A powerful new novel”
Anita Sethi, The Independent/i-news
"I highly recommend it but just with a warning to prepare for the highly unexpected!”
”Very enjoyable and original” - "Though the novel is set in a system that curbs freedom, Haddad’s writing is full of light and is rich in poetry, songs, music, and engaging depictions of characters and places."
The Tanjara/Al-Hayat Newspaper
“The combination of the reality-inspired setting and the philosophical preoccupations of the novel endows it with a distinguishable character. Although its plot is framed within a particular political context, we agreed that Haddad’s The Unexpected Love Objects deviates from the majority of the contemporary, politically-fraught and violence-imbued literary productions on Syria …the story transcends the political to more artistic and aesthetic preoccupations, mainly photography, music, science, and story-telling.”
"The necessary connection between macro and micro is only one of many wonderful things in Rana Haddad’s quirky, very readable, and slightly odd novel.”
Novelist Robin Yassin-Kassab, Qunfuz Blog
“The Unexpected Love Objects of Dunya Noor: review’ a novel that tries to explore the strangeness between the said and unsaid in 1980’s and 1990’s Syria.”
Book Review by Usman Butt, The New Arab
"Her prose is clear and her wit is sharp. Haddad tells a story without embellishment or subtlety—her charm lies in her ability to write about the nonsensical motivations of power” Manal Shakir, Arab News
"This satirical, coming of age story is Haddad’s first novel—and one that’s sure to keep you engaged up until the very last page."
Mille World’s 5 Page Turning Books to read this summer, 2018
Moustaches and Magic Realism in Baathist Syria
Book Review by Gareth Smyth, Arab Weekly
Conversations with Writers, New Rivers Press
Interview by Istanbul novelist Naktaria Anastasiadou
“Always do what they tell you not to do.”
Author Interview on Hoopoe Fiction’s Blog
“It’s Quite a Title. Ya!”
Transcript of author interview by BBC Radio presenter Amanny Mo on Instagram Live
Sound & vision
Coffee with BBC radio presenter Ammany Mo on Instagram Live
MTV Book choice by Lebanese writer Julie Mourad, starting 10 minutes in.
France 24 interview with TV presenter Sanam Shantyaei and award-winning French reporter, author, and documentary film director Alfred de Montesquiou. 30th of March 2021.
Radio Interview with Sophia Blackwell on London Resonance FM. Starting at 35:30 min. in the time code.