Floodlines (Europa Editions, 2026)

A New Yorker Best Book of 2026 (so far)
A Service 95 (Dua Lipa’s) Book Club Selection

Saleem Haddad’s second novel Floodlines is a sweeping, multi-generational novel that traces the fractured bond between three estranged Iraqi-British sisters, each an artist in her own right, as they grapple with the legacies of war, exile, and family secrets. Set in 2014, as the Islamic State threatens to destroy the Iraq they once knew, the discovery of their late father's stolen paintings in their mother Bridget’s house ignites a fierce battle over the family's narrative. Beautiful Zainab, unforgiving Mediha, and queer, headstrong Ishtar each cling to opposing versions of the past, and this discovery triggers the resurfacing of long-buried memories, which will force each of them to confront the personal and political betrayals that tore their family apart.

PRAISE

"In this sprawling family saga, three Iraqi British sisters strain against one another while contending with political turmoil. Haddad writes in a prose that is erudite and engaging. His intimate knowledge of the region’s politics enriches this layered drama of sisterhood."--The New Yorker

“Floodlines tackles colonialism, homeland, memory – and the role that art can play in each.”—Service 95 Book Club

“Politics, parents and personal trauma infuse Haddad’s compelling prose, as the war debris in their ravaged land echoes their damaged lives. At the heart of family illness is a secret their mother kept for years. Worldwide political damage remains, but Haddad offers the possibility that broken threads within a family’s fabric may be rejoined and a fresh garment begun.”—Lavendar Magazine

“Even the barest plot summary surely suffices to show that Floodlines is a hugely ambitious novel which asks challenging questions on every page… if Floodlines challenges the reader to think, it’s also eminently readable. For once, the riverine metaphor “the prose flows”, fits perfectly. Often, the language is arresting….. Beyond the skill of its prose, Floodlines is humane and moving….. it would be a very hard-hearted reader who didn’t become moist eyed at some point… although in a novel as politically engaged as this, the characters’ inner worlds, and the feelings they evoke in the reader, are gateways to understanding how historical forces can align to oppress, rather than distractions from noticing oppression.”—Asian Review of Books

“A Iraqi family saga, Floodlines braids family, queerness, exile and the long shadow of the Iraq war into a multigenerational story that is as politically incisive as it is deeply human. Haddad writes with rare clarity and compassion, creating a novel that resonates far beyond its setting. A sweeping, emotionally devastating contemporary epic that feels both intimate and urgent.”—The Bookseller (UK) Discovery Preview Editor’s Choice

“Haddad’s writing is a searing meditation on hope. Floodlines is beautifully crafted, and breathtaking in scope and reach. It is a book that mourns Iraq and all the senseless violence its people and lands have been subjected to while celebrating its art and heritage, richness and commitment to life.“—Tareq Baconi, author of Fire in Every Direction

“Haddad writes movingly about what we inherit, and places art at the heart of his exploration into how the tragedy of a country and the tragedy of a family live on the same canvas.”--Michael Langan, author of Shadow Is A Colour As Light Is

Floodlines manages to grip and engage even as it explodes moral and intellectual complacencies. In asking what it means to make art, it manages to be cinematic and essayistic in the same breath. Above all, it manages to fuse the intimate subjectivities of disinheritance and displacement with unfolding history. An epic vindication. — Youssef Rakha, author of The Dissenters

“Haddad writes with the precision of a historian and the heart of a poet. Floodlines is a haunting, incandescent novel, a story of art and aftermath, of queerness and quiet revolution, and an excavation of family, memory, and the political ruptures that echo across generations. With fierce tenderness and astonishing power, Haddad confirms himself as one of our most vital storytellers. A stunning, necessary book.” –Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal

“Tracing the shifting territories of meaning forged through the art and narratives of witness, Floodlines is a sophisticated exploration of inheritance, identity, and the politics of intimacy, navigating the delicate negotiations between revelation and concealment. Haddad’s depiction of the search for home, both spiritual and physical, one shaped by love, rage, and longing, is a compelling and resonant novel for our moment.”--Peter Scalpello, author of Limbic