Snippets & Reviews

In the fast-paced debut from Palestinian filmmaker Matar, a pigeon breeder and his friend escape war-torn Syria for Germany. Innocent and naive, Dabbour allows Yasser to draw him into the drug trade, jeopardizing Dabbour’s hopes for a fresh start in Europe. When an older Syrian man, Mr. Saleh, offers Dabbour an opportunity to work with pigeons again, it seems that Dabbour can escape the clutches of the envious and manipulative Yasser after all. However, when a tragedy occurs at Mr. Saleh’s, Dabbour’s chance of a fresh start without Yasser is once again threatened. While the swift pacing can lead to a bit of confusion (as when Matar jumps from Syria to a Berlin police station within the space of a few sentences), the author acutely explores themes of home and belonging through the two friends’ opposing reactions to their new country. As Yasser bristles at the prejudice and rejection they face due to their refugee status, using it as justification for his crimes, Dabbour hopes to assimilate as his notion of home evolves, leading him to the epiphany that “home would always live inside me and that I would carry it with me like my mother carried me in her belly.” Though the final product is skeletal, those bones would be a great foundation for a movie. (Self-published)

Publishers Weekly

https://www.publishersweekly.com/ASINB08DYFN171

“It is a magical book which, nevertheless, raises such important issues such as hope, hopelessness, belonging, war, migration, love, and loss.”

KGNU Claudia Cragg. KGNU Radio.

https://ccragg123.libsyn.com/film-maker-motaz-h-matar-on-his-new-book

THE PIGEON WHISPERER by M.H. Matar is an intoxicating literary tale of one refugee’s destiny. Check out what Madeline Barbush has to say in her review of this indie author novel.

Reviewed by Madeline Barbush

https://independentbookreview.com/2021/01/15/book-review-the-pigeon-whisperer/

I knew The Pigeon Whisperer would be an absolute 5 stars read for me as soon as I completed the first chapter, so I kept a highlighter near me before continuing to highlight my favorite quotes, and I am happy to say that I found many realistic quotes I’d always cherish. The story profoundly described Dabbour – the main character’s love for pigeons. He ran away from the horrors of Syria but he did not forget his love for those precious beings. His love for them went as far as risking his own life to save theirs, even if it got him to major trouble. This book showed me a sad, sad side of a Syrian refugee’s life who wasn’t lucky enough choose his own home after the war, or live in his own. I had to close my eyes or shake my head every time I knew Dabbour was taking the wrong turn or making the wrong decisions. Even after going through so many hardships, the only thing that made Dabbour want to carry on with life was hope. Hope for a calm future, where he’d be able to live his life freely, with many of his beloved pigeons and a happy heart. Throughout the story I just wanted good things to happen to this poor innocent man, but world was tough on him. If you liked reading books like A Thousand Splendid Suns or Kite Runner, you’ll definitely love this book. 5/5 stars.

Samama Reza: Reader on goodreads.

It’s a story of how a man escaped his hometown because of wars and restarted his life as a refugee in foreign country – hoping that he could see the bright side of life. But the adventures had lead him to misery though his small heart knew best who he actually was. It wasn’t an easy journey. I literally spent my time sitting down and thinking about life while taking chapter break. We all want to be good but sometimes life just put us to a no-choices-situation. It really breaks my heart thinking how ‘broken’ our reality, our world actually is – because of wars, how many souls had suffered, are suffering and will suffer when some people just keep on being selfish. I think this story is really beautiful and it taught me not to easily judge people and treat others better. I love how the author delivered every scenes in the story, it was very thoughtfully written and I think I’ll need to read another books from the same author too. Thank you for writing this remarkable book, i truly enjoyed it. 🙂

Nisa (reader on goodreads)

Many thanks to Motaz H Matar and Booktasters for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. The Pigeon Whisperer is a beautifully written story that kept me enthralled from the first chapter till the last chapter. Twenty-five-year-old Dabbour, a pigeon herder, flees war-torn Syria for Berlin with childhood friend Yasser. Introverted, Dabbour tries to fit in and learn the language and customs of Berlin. He falls for his teacher Zara but the feelings aren’t mutual. One day, at the train station, Dabbour is asked to show his identification. Realizing he left it at the small studio he shares with Yasser, he makes a run for it for fear of being detained and deported. When he sees an injured pigeon on the tracks, he reacts impulsively; jumping on the tracks while a train approaches nearly getting himself killed. Authorities arrest him and warn him he could be deported if he gets in any more trouble. He meets Mr. Saleh, a Syrian who has lived in Germany for over twenty years. He offers Dabbour a job of buying and breeding pigeons and advises him to stay on the right path. However, Dabbour finds himself entangled in Yasser’s illegal activities. One of them is using his talents as a pigeon whisperer to smuggle drugs. From beginning to end, The Pigeon Whisperer kept me riveted reading of Dabbour’s struggles to live in a country not always welcoming to foreigners while yearning for a home. Author Motaz H Matar’s writing style is beautiful, poignant, and poetic. Five stars, I recommend adding this gripping tale to your collection.

Kathryn (reader on goodreads)