The Foghorn Echoes by Danny Ramadan

Syria, 2003. A blooming romance leads to a tragic accident when Hussam's father catches him acting on his feelings for his best friend, Wassim. In an instant, the course of their lives is changed forever.

Ten years later, Hussam and Wassim are still struggling to find peace and belonging. Sponsored as a refugee by a controlling older man, Hussam is living an openly gay life in Vancouver, where he attempts to quiet his demons with sex, drugs, and alcohol. Wassim is living on the streets of Damascus, having abandoned a wife and child and a charade he could no longer keep up. Taking shelter in a deserted villa, he unearths the previous owner's buried secrets while reckoning with his own.

The past continues to reverberate through the present as Hussam and Wassim come face to face with heartache, history, drag queens, border guards, and ghosts both literal and figurative. Masterfully crafted and richly detailed,The Foghorn Echoesis a gripping novel about how to carve out home in the midst of war, and how to move forward when the war is within yourself. (From Viking)

The Foghorn Echoeswon a2023 Lambda Literary Award in thegay fiction category.

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Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author, public speaker and advocate for LGBTQ+ refugees. His debut novel, The Clothesline Swing, was shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award and was longlisted for Canada Reads 2018. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and currently lives in Vancouver with his husband.

Interviews with Danny Ramadan

The journey from Syria to Canada

9 years ago

Duration 5:06

Danny Ramadan fled war-torn Syria in 2011, and eventually came to Vancouver in September 2014

The Next Chapter8:07Danny Ramadan on Salma The Syrian Chef

Danny Ramadan on his first children's book, Salma The Syrian Chef, illustrated by Anna Bron, which he launched on Twitter.

The Next Chapter19:11Danny Ramadan on The Foghorn Echoes

Danny Ramadan talks to Shelagh Rogers about his novel, The Foghorn Echoes.

Other books by Danny Ramadan