Yumna Kassab

The Theory of Everything

Australiana

The Lovers

Politica

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  • Books in Translation in 2025

    It’s almost the end of the year and I wanted to make a list of the books in translation that I have really enjoyed this year. I tried reading The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica but it wasn’t the right time for me. I know I will come back to it but instead, I lost myself…

  • Plastic Budgie by Olivia De Zilva & Upcoming Events

    It’s always so exciting to come across a fantastic debut. Two years ago, I found Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari at Parramatta Library, and it was one of the best books I read in 2023. This time, it is Plastic Budgie by Olivia De Zilva. I read this book in a 24 hour period…

  • The House of Youssef – Six Years On

    The House of Youssef was released six years ago at the start of September, 2019. Before this book was published, I had been writing for fifteen years. Almost all of those writings were stories and even these days, the majority of my writing is fiction. I do write an occasional essay but to my mind,…

  • Old Soul by Susan Barker

    I love to read horror but I don’t think I have ever been so creeped out by a book as by Old Soul by Susan Barker. I first came across the book in a roundup in the Guardian and then I found it at my local library. The story is otherworldly, creepy and unsettling. There…

  • Reviews for The Theory of Everything

    As I do for every one of my books, I try to put all the reviews in one place. Here is a list of reviews and related material connected to The Theory of Everything. This list will be updated when necessary. In other news, Jumaana Abdu read a version of Two Burials at an event…

  • Upcoming Events

    I have a few events coming up in the next few weeks for The Theory of Everything. Firstly, there’s an author talk at Newcastle Library on Saturday the 17th of May. It will be at 6pm in the evening. It is free to attend. All details can be found here. The Sydney Writers’ Festival is…

  • Learned Behaviours by Zeynab Gamieldien

    Occasionally there will be a book that I simply can’t put down. The last time that happened was when I read Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda which was fantastic on so many levels. This time, it was Learned Behaviours by Zeynab Gamieldien which doesn’t come out till August this year. I picked this…

  • The Theory of Everything

    So what is The Theory of Everything? Firstly, I am referencing the non-existent scientific “theory of everything.” I have been wondering for a while now how does a writer try to capture the world we live in through fiction. My sense is that by sticking to a narrative structure that follows A to B and…

  • The Books of 2024

    It has been a great year for reading and I want to share here a list of the books that have really stood out for me this year.  * Always Will Be by Mykaela Saunders   This collection of short stories is inventive, and I read it in April when I desperately needed hope. It is speculative and…

  • A Year On: Long Live Palestine

    To witness the destruction and cruelty and sheer violence of the last year means that we simply cannot live or think as we did before. Whoever we are today is different to the people we were a year ago. The intensity of violence across the past twelve months is connected to a longer string that…