The Hair of the Pigeon

The Hair of the Pigeon
Mohammed Massoud Morsi
UWA Publishing, 2026

The Hair of the Pigeon is a timely and powerful read, exploring the importance of love and humanity in the face of war and atrocity.

The book is set across multiple countries and time periods, from the atrocities inflicted during the Syrian Civil War to present-day Copenhagen.

The story is told from the perspective of Ghassan, a teenager growing up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. At first, Ghassan’s life is one of relative normality. He goes to school, plays soccer with his friend and finds himself falling in love with a girl in his class. But, as the country is engulfed by civil war and the brutality of the Assad regime, his world is quickly torn apart.

As readers, we become witnesses to the atrocities of this time in a way that is haunting and at times extremely hard to read. The prose is poetic and detailed, each chapter an accumulation of vivid images.

Sometimes these images are comforting, like Ghassan’s mother cooking in their little kitchen in Syria, or Ghassan playing with ‘Layla’, a six-year-old girl, whom his family adopts.

Other times, these images are completely shattering, as we are led through war-torn buildings and the destruction of homes and entire livelihoods, forcing us to face uncomfortable truths.

What stood out the most was Ghassan’s voice. Brutal and honest, he describes the realities he is facing as he looks towards a hazy, uncertain future. At the same time, Ghassan’s voice remains defiantly optimistic, a teenager who believes that the world can be different.

It is a voice that cuts through to the current times we are living in and reminds us to remain hopeful, if not for ourselves, then for the people who need it the most.