Falcons on the Floor Paperback - 2012

Fiction. FALCONS ON THE FLOOR features the flight of young Salim Abid from his home in Fallujah, Iraq, just as the American-led forces lay siege to the city. Intent on contacting Rana, a girl he's only met online, he sets off walking to Ramadi, a town 40 miles up the Euphrates River. Along the way, Salim is joined by his reckless friend Khalil. Their journey is hindered by the war and the roles the two young men play in it. When they finally arrive in Ramadi, things are not as they had hoped, and in the gripping last pages, their fates are sealed tragically.

FALCONS ON THE FLOOR is the rare novel about war that re-humanizes everyone involved. Through excellent writing and a deep understanding of what occupation does, to civilians and soldiers alike, Sirois and Alshujairy take the reader on a deeply personal journey where we are shown how and why war should be avoided at all cost.--Dahr Jamail

Sirois disproves that art has no place during times of war. He illuminates the absurdities and complexities of war, details a ravaged, gorgeous landscape and the hearts of men in a way only a novel can do. Compelling, heartfelt, intelligent--FALCONS ON THE FLOOR shows us how young men, all over this sad planet, become pawns in a world beyond their control.--Paula Bomer

The battle of Fallujah seen on the ground by Iraqis. Two young men slip out of the city under siege to walk through desert patrolled by Coalition commandos to Ramadi. Two young men with conflicting appraisals of the situation, and with the loyalties and lusts of youth and hopeless hopes. The writing of this complex novel makes it a lyrical and sensuous poem--an astonishing and mesmerizing book.--Alphonso Lingis