(2020) A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR A FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS IN TRANSLATED LITERATURE SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAIF GHOBASH BANIPAL PRIZE Death Is Hard Work is a tale of three people embarking on an absurd quest – an unforgettable journey into a contemporary heart of darkness. At a hospital in Damascus, Syria, Abdel Latif’s final wish is to be buried in the family plot near Aleppo – just a two-hour drive away. Bolbol, his youngest son, persuades his estranged brother and sister to accompany him and their father’s body to the ancestral village. But Syria is a war zone, and the trials that confront the family on their journey will have enormous consequences for them all.