Land of the Danakil

The life of Shanuq, this strange, enigmatic man, unfolds before us through the women in his life. Through them, the novel explores key moments in Yemeni history, particularly those preceding unification. From the time of Saleh's alliance with the al-Baidh group in the north and the eventual unification, the narrator doesn't delve into more recent chapters of Yemeni history, such as the rise of the Houthis and their conflict, especially with the regime.
Shanuq lives alone in the darkness of his home, surrounded by meetings due to the regime's pursuit of him because of his past political activism. He is only permitted to visit the girl, Hawa, who is under strict control and whose physical contact with him is restricted. He has no one else to visit him except the imam of the mosque, who is married to a friend of the building owner where he lives.
We learn about Shannouk's life through messages he exchanges with a celestial figure, whom he calls "Habib" on Facebook. It will later be revealed that she is nothing more than a little bit of the Bandariya, whom he believes was killed later.
Between revisiting past events through correspondence with Al-Bandariyah and conversations with Ghazal, and through the character's robot, its stories, and its movements as it flees from all sides, even dreaming of emigration, will it succeed? The life of Shanuq, this strange and enigmatic man, is revealed to us through the women in his life. Through them, the novel reviews episodes from Yemen's political history, from before unification to the subsequent secession, then Saleh's victory over the Al-Baidh in the north and the reunification, leading us to the narrator's account of contemporary chapters in Yemen's history, particularly the rise of the Houthis and their conflict with the regime. Shanuq lives alone in the darkness of his home, fearing persecution by the regime for his past political activities. Ghazal, a young woman in her twenties who tried to escape her difficult living conditions through prostitution, is the only one allowed to visit him. His only friend is the imam of the mosque, who is married to the respectable woman who owns the building where Shanuq lives. We learn about Shannouk's story through messages he exchanges with someone calling himself Adel on Facebook. We later discover that Adel is none other than his long-lost love from the 1980s, a woman from the city center whom he believed to have been killed. Between revisiting past events through his messages with the woman from the city center and his conversations with Ghazal, and through his personal journey, experiences, and attempts to distance himself from everyone, culminating in his dream of emigration, will he succeed in his escape?