After 17 years, the narrator and his friend, Ali, meet at Heathrow and
slowly remember their past in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon. Their memories are concentrated on one fatal night when they were with two other friends for the last time, before tragedy struck. But for the narrator, a personal tragedy had occurred much earlier¿

Like many other Palestinians, both Ali and the narrator had to leave Lebanon in the mid-1980s, when it became a battleground for local armies - Ali to America, the narrator to London.

But this is not just a story about suffering, it is also about absurd politics
and violence - about a world where tragedy and comedy co-exist.

A poignant story that lingers long after one has finished it.

Praise for Samir El-Youssef's The Illusion of Return [A] vivid portrait of life in wartime Lebanon, and the temporary refuge provided by friends... poignant and evocative. -- The Economist El-Youssef is unflinchingly critical of aspects of his society ... the novel attempts to reveal a more complex human reality behind the smokescreen of tales of heroism and martyrdom. -- Guardian A nuanced, thought-provoking look at this world, free of easy, political answers. -- New Statesman A stirring book. -- Financial Times