What the moon saw

Abstract

This thesis is an excerpt of a novel in progress, with the working title What the Sun and the Moon Saw. Told from the perspectives of the Sun and the Moon, the novel follows the lives of a Russian writer and an Iraqi poet, both fictionalized versions of real people. Nadia, Hope in Russian, grows up in a school for children of the enemies of the state, where she experiences rape and other hardships, and where she discovers her love for writing. When she wants to publish her life story, the editors tell her it’s too bleak for the Russian reading audience. As a consequence, she struggles to survive until the Soviet Union collapses. Amal, Hope in Arabic, is born into a loving family in Iraq. He discovers his passion for poetry at a young age and quickly becomes a beloved national poet. When he writes a satire on the ruling elite, he is forced into exile to survive. Both stories grapple with censorship: its futility, its effects on the creative and personal lives of writers/poets, and ultimately, its downfall.