Song of Ancient Lovers: A Novel [Hardcover]

Award-winning Colombian author Laura Restrepo weaves contemporary themes and ancient myth in this story of star-crossed lovers in a world on the brink of collapse.

Retelling the mythical love story between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in the refugee camps of the present day,Song of Ancient Loversis a sublime ode to love and desire as forces shaping human history, with power that rivals forces of destruction.

Ethereal in its weaving of the real and the mythical, the contemporary and the ancient, this is the story of Bos Mutas, a young writer traveling from South America to northern Africa in search of traces of his obsession. His research unveils the Queen of Sheba as unyielding and committed to her independence, with remarkable influence both in her time—over Solomon and all the subjects in her expansive kingdom—and on thinkers and artists across the centuries, from Thomas Aquinas to G?rard de Nerval, Frida Kahlo to Patti Smith. He also finds traces of her influence in the magic made of devastating circumstances by women he meets on his journey, especially Zahra Bayda, a Somali midwife who has taken it upon herself to show him around.

Stunning and evocative,Song of Ancient Loversis a triumph of imagination and reverence for the spirit that connects us across boundaries of time and geography.

Translated from the Spanish by Caro De Robertis

"Sweeping and lyrical. . . . An undeniable ode to an inspiring figure." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A true testament to the interconnectedness of time and space,Song of Ancient Loversis a portal that takes you within and without mythic reality and historical conflict, ancient icons and modern media, curating a rewarding tale of love in a devastating world." -Chicago Review of Books

"transcendent. . . .Song of Ancient Lovers, translated by Caro De Robertis, layers chaptersl“2