Motaz H Matar's The Pigeon Whisperer released September 1, 2020
Motaz H. Matar's third novel tells the story of a Syrian refuge and pigeon herder living in Berlin. Dabbour must choose between a life of crime as a drug smuggler "pigeon whisperer" and risk returning to Syria or to make a new life for himself.
ABU DHABI, UAE: "The Pigeon Whisper" is on general release from September 1 and is available now for pre-order on Apple Books. The Pigeon Whisperer is Motaz H Matar's third novel after "28 Mansions of the Moon" and "Tunnel Twelve: Two Walls That Divide Cities, Hearts and Futures."
About the book:
Meet Dabbour, a 25-year-old Syrian refuge and introvert and a pigeon herder. He fled with to Berlin with Yasser, his childhood friend and the two have succeeded in finding a new home using fake passports. Dabbour is trying to learn the ropes in this new country; while trying to learn German he's fallen for his German teacher, Zara.
One day, Dabbour jumps on the railway tracks to save an injured pigeon and almost gets himself killed. For this, he gets arrested by the police – and realizes how much he misses home and the birds. Yasser asks Dabbour to use his talents as a "pigeon whisperer" and steal stray pigeons to transport drugs. Dabbour agrees, then realizes it was a big mistake. Dabbour is forced to choose between his loyalty to his friend and the promise of a new "family" and doing the right thing. Dabbour sinks further and further into the world of crime and drug smuggling.
Dabbour struggles to remain under the radar to making sure he keeps his residency in Germany. Will Dabbour be sent back to Syria, or will he allowed to remain in Germany after everything he's done? Or in the end, will love save him?
About the author:
Motaz H Matar is an award-winning Palestinian Film and TV Director and Screenwriter holding an MFA degree in Cinematic Arts, and an MA in Serial storytelling from Cologne, Germany where he was the first Arab selected in the third cohort amongst 10 International students. For four years he taught university-level film production, and design in Dubai, Sharjah, and Jordan.
In 2017 Motaz's first feature film "Slingshot" was officially selected in the Mediterranean film festival in Cannes and the Culcutta International film festival. Motaz is the founder of the First Arab Chat Fiction Mobile Application "Hakawaty" which aims to revolutionize the way stories are consumed in the Arab world.
