The Sixth Red Novel

A Confrontation with the Self

This confrontation that you know you have postponed and run away from often, for no other reason than knowing the magnitude of the pain you will face, which you might not be able to bear.

However, if you had faced it, you would have known that many of those iron shackles that bound your hands were never made of sand and had nothing to do with iron at all... I say many of them, not all, but those burdens you placed on your back will not be removed by anything as much as by confronting the issue, no matter how difficult and painful it is.

Generations who have entered their fourth decade and beyond know the extent of nostalgia that will engulf you if you hold that photo album, which contains many stories under each picture. Perhaps today's generations, who have been deprived of this kind of nostalgic gift that will strike them because of a picture from an album, despite God granting them high-resolution images, video clips, and infinite storage spaces, still find the effect of that picture behind the album very strange.

This is what Dr. Ahmed did to me. I had the honor of reading his yet-to-be-published novel, "Sixth Red," and it opened doors of wondrous nostalgia for me. Its ability to sneak into places in the heart that electricity does not easily reach was evident and recurring. What's more, I don't recall ever reading a text in my life that pushed me to confront myself and "pat" myself on the back as this novel did. And the most beautiful part is that it offers you solutions for wounds that none of us are without.

As you walk alongside the characters in the novel, you will find a historical documentation of a very important era in Iraq's history. It is truly beautiful to know the story not only from news reports but also from those who lived it. How wonderful it is for someone to direct your gaze to another angle that had never been opened to you before.

This type of novel will be among the first names that come to your mind if someone asks you for a reading recommendation, because your emotions will be deeply involved in many parts of it.

For reading enthusiasts, a forthcoming literary work will give you a few days of pleasure, unfortunately only a few days; because as soon as you turn the first pages, you will proceed at a speed that deserves a speeding ticket, yet you do not have the luxury of slowing down even a little. Despite all that, the work will reach you soon, God willing, and you will thank me.

Of course, you will thank Dr. Ahmed, but don't forget me.

"Sixth Red"... when the pages speak to you on a soul level, not just the mind.