Our Names

By Isabella Hammad

"A calm and vital storyteller, a writer of real rhythmic grace."--Ali Smith, The Guardian

From one of the most "assured and formidable" (The Wall Street Journal) literary voices today, Our Names spans a decade to tell a story of international politics and intrigue through the magnetic friendship between two women

1955 Bandung, Indonesia. Twenty-two-year-old Marie Nahhas has been granted the opportunity to travel with the Lebanese delegation to the first Asian-African Conference--the largest gathering of leaders from recently decolonized countries to date--as one of two secretaries, the spare. Stricken by her brother's death two years prior and uncertain about her impending marriage, the conference is a fleeting chance for adventure, to witness history in a way that would have made her brother proud.

There, she meets Shirin, an Indian Parsi photojournalist, self-assured and daring, who knows how to use being underestimated as a woman to her advantage. Skeptical of Marie's engagement and unafraid to stray from the beaten path, it seems Shirin has a lot to teach Marie. Eleven years later, Shirin is the one with questions. She embarks on a search for Marie that carries her on a winding journey across Lebanon. Navigating rich political terrain through an intimate lens, Our Names is an expansive and masterfully written book about imagining a world after empire.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080216952X
• ISBN13: 9780802169525
• Release Date: August 2027
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 320 Pages