“This beautiful book about a family’s tortured relationship to history–and a region’s fraught relationship to modernity–is everything a great memoir should be: It’s as moving as it is complex.” — The Globe and Mail
“Intolerable brings [Al-Solaylee’s] skill as a cultural analyst to the spiritual ailments of the Arab world. . . . Powerful, heartfelt . . . necessary reading for anyone who cares about Canada’s place in the world.” — The Walrus
“This is [a book] about survival and identity on many levels. The whole story is so singular and unlike any biography I have ever read. I could not put it down.” — Maclean’s
“[A] Forthright and engaging memoir.” — Quill & Quire
“A fascinating personal story and a history of a once-liberal family transformed by the politics and turmoil of the Middle East.” — The Next Chapter, CBC Radio
“An astounding read.” — Canada AM
“Here is a courageous personal history, all the more powerful for what it asks of every reader: What would you have done?” — Wayson Choy, author of All That Matters
“An important and captivating read.” — Xtra!
“A bulls-eye of individual truth telling as well as an apt and timely metaphor . . . a moving and wrenching reminder of the urgent need for integrity.” — Lambda Literary
“A heartbreaking memoir of a man out of place and time. Tracing the Middle East through the 1980s and ‘90s, this is a personal coming-out narrative with a difference.” — The Sun Times (Owen Sound)
“Enlightening and heartbreaking.” — Ottawa Review of Books
“A brilliant and utterly mesmerizing memoir. . . . The book is informative and emotionally satisfying and a credit to Al-Solaylee’s heart-baring skill. It is enthralling, entertaining and a must-read.” — Fab Magazine
“[A] touching account of a gay man’s journey to self-awareness. . . . The story gains in poignancy against the backdrop of a Middle East beset by conflict, economic decline and the rise of political Islam.” — Literary Review of Canada
“I don’t think you’ll find a more painfully honest memoir on the bookshelves.” — Inside the News with Peter Mansbridge
“A beguiling memoir. . . . I’ve read many books on Islam and the Arab world, but none with the intimacy and emotional weight of this one. . . . An immigrant tale, a queer history, a geopolitical lesson, and above all, it’s a love story.” — Stephanie Nolen, author of 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa
“Kamal Al-Solaylee has written a powerful memoir that will lift your spirits and break your heart.” — Margaret Wente
“[An] inspiring story. . . . Al-Solaylee captuers the historical moment in a way that’s real and compelling.” — In Toronto
“Despite its light-hearted tone, this beguiling memoir tells an intensely emotional story of one family’s eroded dreams. . . . Unembellished and heartbreaking.” — Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust jury citation
“An emotionally powerful read.” — Critical Stages