What does a 22-year-old British-Arab Muslim writer with a great story idea do? Hunker down and write the tale! The creative brain behind the novel ‘The Boy from Aleppo Who Painted the War’ is a Creative Writing graduate from Kingston University who may well be London’s youngest female Muslim writer.
Sumia Sukkar, the 22-year old novelist of Arab origin, was born and raised in London, but has now returned to Abu Dhabi. She had lived in the UAE for two years and graduated from Al Nahda National School in 2010, before leaving to the UK for university.
Sukkar says that a writers’ guild in London praised her book The Boy from Aleppo Who Painted. The book was initially produced as a short piece for her dissertation, but her lecturer (who owned an independent publishing house) was impressed by her effort and decided to publish her.
The Boy from Aleppo Who Painted the War is about a 14-year-old boy with Asperger Syndrome who attempts to understand the Syrian conflict and its effect on his life by painting his feelings. Yasmine, his older sister, devotes herself to him, but has to cope with her own trauma when soldiers take her. Their three brothers also experience their own struggle – on the sides they have to take, and the consequences of their choices.
“I sat down and began writing the novel in June, and wrote every day for four months until I finished. I basically went into hibernation the whole summer. The idea had been in my mind for a year and I had the story planned before I began writing. Editing and re-writing took a month and a half after I handed the first draft manuscript to my publisher.”
“The challenges I faced were the distractions and the feelings of fear, negativity and perfectionism. When you put your written word out there, you are letting the world take a look into your mind. If that isn’t scary, then what is? The only way I knew to keep going was to believe in myself. My inspirations came from Haruki Murakami’s books and my mother’s words of wisdom.”
“I am currently freelancing and writing a short film script for a film that will be made in the UAE. I am planning to start my next novel in summer where I will happily go into hibernation once again! I am tossing some ideas around, but nothing is set in stone yet. However, I can say that my second book will be very different from my first novel.”
Sukkar’s advice for aspiring writers and authors is to “read, read, read…and be ready to re-write until your hands ache. Don’t be afraid to be your harshest critic, and stop making excuses – you will eventually find your voice.”
The Boy From Aleppo Who Painted The War’ is currently selling in Magrudy’s where you can order if it is not in stock.
Written by: Chequinah Coutinho
