Floodlines (Europa Editions, 2026)

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

“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