Finger Passes - Mohsen Al-Ramli

This novel has received serious Arab and Western critical attention since its publication in Spanish first in Madrid, then its Arabic edition was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the Booker) in 2010. It has been translated into English, Italian, and Portuguese. Its events revolve between Iraq and Spain and address aspects of Iraqi society's transformations over three generations, touching on various dualities and themes such as love, war, dictatorship, freedom, migration, traditions, modernity, the East, and the West... among others. The Spanish poet and critic Manuel Reina described it in an article in ABC newspaper as: "A novel charged with emotion, exquisite in its evocations and tenderness, and characterized by a great ability to depict contradictions and points of difference and convergence between Western and Eastern cultures... It is truly a gift to the mind and senses." The artist Ángel Pascual said about it: "One of the distinguished books that grip you from the first page and do not let go until the end, carrying us between the childhood Iraqi atmosphere of the writer and today’s Spain. In my opinion, it is characterized by intense density, sensitivity, and high literary quality... making reading it a sweet and enriching experience." The cultural attaché of the newspaper El Mundo, Mohsen Ramli, considered it one of the most important voices in contemporary Iraqi prose.