Shadows of the Passersby

About this book

We are all passersby in the vast movement of life, yet every brief crossing leaves a shadow on memory. In this collection, Ziad Al-Halawani follows twelve people whose paths appear ordinary until their private truths begin to surface. A detective pursues a mystery that cannot be contained in a case file, while a newspaper seller carries breaking news alongside the story of his own broken heart. Moving between love, disappointment, modest victories, and defeats that history never records, the stories examine the hidden current linking seemingly separate lives. Shadows of the Passersby asks readers to pause, look closely at those around them, and consider whether the greatest mysteries are not distant at all, but concealed within familiar hearts.