The Bleeds

Dimitri Nasrallah

The Bleeds isn’t a mere burlesque of a dictatorship, but is instead a fierce political satire with real teeth.” -Jeff Miller, Montreal Review of Books

“Nasrallah invites readers to imagine themselves imbedded in power structures—not for the purpose of humanizing dictators, but as a means of jarring us out of our own polarized ideologies.” -Shenaz Kermalli, Quill & Quire

"Nasrallah’s construction of the book shows how multifaceted revolutions can be, and how the ideal of an information-and-citizenry-propelled deposition of corrupt leadership is often a total illusion.... The Bleeds delivers a damning vision of freedom as merely a useful concept to discuss loudly while quietly seizing absolute power." -Naben Ruthnum, Literary Review of Canada

"Nasrallah’s biggest coup comes out of his biggest risk … He represents both Mustafa and Vadim in the first-person, alternating their voices to increasingly dramatic effect and universalizing both his protagonists to the point where you can forget for pages at a time that this particular father and son happen to control a nation’s fate." Ian McGillis, Montreal Gazette

"It’s beautifully put together. Fascinating and entertaining and disturbing all at once. Nothing feels superfluous; not a line is out of place. Nasrallah switches tone effortlessly from newspaper report to blog and back and forth between Bleed senior and junior, who both speak in the first person but are entirely distinct and instantly identifiable. Drama builds with each change in perspective." - Peter McCambridge, Quebec Reads