Salutation Road
a speculative literary novel about the struggles of immigration, love and letting go of a past that never existed.
by Salma Ibrahim
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Pub Date 13 Feb 2025 | Archive Date 12 Feb 2025
Pan Macmillan | Mantle
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Description
‘We may look the same, but I am not you . . . We share nothing but a reflection in the mirror’
Salutation Road by Salma Ibrahim is a beautifully told literary debut about the everyday struggles of immigration, love and letting go of a past that never really existed. For fans of Nadifa Mohamed and Mohsin Hamid.
Twenty-three-year-old Sirad Ali is a woman adrift. Abandoned by her father in childhood, doing her best to support her mother and younger brother in their small flat in South London, she can’t help but wonder if this is the life she really wants.
One morning, Sirad boards her bus to work and finds herself transported to an alternate timeline in present-day Mogadishu. Over the course of a single day, under the sweltering East African sun, Sirad must contend with a lost reality. There she encounters an almost unrecognizable version of her family and comes face to face with her double, Ubah – the woman she could have been, had her parents never fled to London during the Somali Civil War.
Back home in Greenwich, Sirad must go on with life, consumed by all she now knows. But then Ubah mysteriously appears in London, and Sirad begins to understand that nothing will ever be the same again . . .
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781035044344 |
| PRICE | £16.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 256 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Nyla R, Reviewer
I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I've read it.
It's such a thought-provoking and deeply introspective novel that blends the everyday struggles of a young woman, a child of immigrant parents, whilst providing the possibility of an alternate reality. Sirad's journey from her flat in South London to a reimagined Mogadishu offers a powerful reflection on the roads not taken and the impact of migration, family, and identity.
The novel’s premise is so unique and left me wondering about what could have been. Ibrahim does an amazing job at showing Sirad being burdened by the weight of her responsibilities, and suddenly finds herself in an alternate version of her life in Mogadishu. The contrast between her existence in Greenwich and the streets of Somalia is vividly portrayed, and the emotional weight of Sirad confronting her double, Ubah, is captivating. Ubah represents the life she could have had, and the novel explores how the choices of parents and the forces of history shape the destiny and ultimate outcome of her life.
Sirad’s internal struggle is the heart of the novel, dealing with themes of displacement and belonging. Ibrahim's portrayal is so real and raw, and as the story develops, I was hooked at the way small decision impact her future, especially with her relationship with Omar.
Salutation Road is such a fantastic novel that leaves you constantly thinking. Its exploration of duality, fate, and the immigrant experience is so powerful.
A must read.
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