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Reviewed by Stephen Christopher for Readers' Favorite
What would you do if you were defending your property from a burglar and they accidentally died? That’s the dilemma Um Hassam and her family faced one night in their apartment in Aleppo, Syria. The rooms are in darkness due to a power cut, and the family is sweltering away in the living room. Just as the parents decide to go to bed, an intruder accosts the daughter, Haya. A struggle ensues, and the burglar is killed. Fearing that he might spend years in a Syrian prison, father Abu Hassam suggests they don’t call the police. With the sound of the 5 am call to prayer in the distance and the confirmation that dawn will soon break, factor in the intrusion of nosey neighbors, and the Hassam family’s life just gets more complicated. How can they get out of this situation? Find out in Anna Halabi’s novella Dead Man Running.
Novellas are an excellent way of telling a story in a short period, and Anna Halabi handles the pace extremely well. The reader is swept up in the story and will be eager to turn the pages to discover what happens next. The best short stories have a twist, so be sure to read right up to the final sentence. My favorite character is Um Hassam; she’s frustrated, overbearing, rude, and condescending, but she does have the fortitude to deal with the situation her family is in. I also enjoyed the insight into people’s lives in Syria and appreciated the author’s notes at the end of each page, explaining the local terminology. I read Dead Man Running in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down.
