{"product_id":"two-blankets-three-sheets-paperback","title":"Two Blankets, Three Sheets - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRodaan Al Galidi\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eJonathan Reeder\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBased on the author's true story, this is the account of Iraqi refugee Samir, who spends nine years in an asylum center in the Netherlands.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"\u003ci\u003eTwo Blankets, Three Sheets\u003c\/i\u003e does for the beleaguered political asylum seeker stuck in legal limbo what Joseph Heller's \u003ci\u003eCatch-22\u003c\/i\u003e did for the hapless soldier trapped in a military at war...Translated from the Dutch into nimble and conversational English by Jonathan Reeder...it is a tale for and of our time.\"\u003cb\u003e--Rayyan Al-Shawaf, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e Amsterdam Airport, 1998. Samir Karim steps off a plane from Vietnam, flushes his fake passport down the toilet, and requests asylum. Fleeing Iraq to avoid conscription into Saddam Hussein's army, he has spent seven years anonymously wandering through Asia. Now, safely in the heart of Europe, he is sent to an asylum center and assigned a bed in a shared dorm--where he will spend the next nine years. As he navigates his way around the absurdities of Dutch bureaucracy, Samir tries his best to get along with his 500 new housemates. Told with compassion and a unique sense of humor, this is an inspiring tale of survival, a close-up view of the hidden world of refugees and human smugglers, and a sobering reflection of our times.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA humorous account of a nine-year wait Amsterdam Airport, 1998. Samir Karim steps off a plane from Vietnam, flushes his fake passport down the toilet, and requests asylum. Fleeing Iraq to avoid conscription into Saddam Hussein's army, he has spent seven years anonymously wandering through Asia. Now, safely in the heart of Europe, he is sent to an asylum center and assigned a bed in a shared dorm--where he will spend the next nine years. As he navigates his way around the absurdities of Dutch bureaucracy, Samir tries his best to get along with his 500 new housemates. Told with compassion and a unique sense of humor, this is an inspiring tale of survival, a close-up view of the hidden world of refugees and human smugglers, and a sobering reflection of our times. '\u003cem\u003eTwo Blankets, Three Sheets\u003c\/em\u003e is a valuable and rich novel about fear, uncertainty, arbitrariness, and hopelessness, written by someone who was, thankfully, able to use his new language as a lifebuoy.' TZUM 'In all its tragedy of miscommunication, loss of identity and of meaning of life, humiliations, and incapacity to truly connect, it is also a very light and humorous book.' LITERAIR NEDERLAND\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRODAAN AL GALIDI is a poet and writer. Born in Iraq and trained as a civil engineer, he has lived in the Netherlands since 1998. As an undocumented asylum seeker, he did not have the right to attend language classes, so he taught himself to read and write Dutch. His novel \u003ci\u003eThe Autist and the Carrier Pigeon\u003c\/i\u003e won the European Union Prize for Literature in 2011--the same year he failed his Dutch citizenship course. \u003cem\u003eTwo Blankets, Three Sheets\u003c\/em\u003e, already a bestseller in the Netherlands, is his most successful novel to date.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 356\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.4 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 07, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42166066020487,"sku":"9781642860450","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/30c3a399daf3cf6d0f9708ebaa08f5a7.webp?v=1733318178","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/two-blankets-three-sheets-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}