Kurdish Author Balsam Karam’s Novel Translated Into Kurdish

The novel “Yekaneyî” has been published by Pall Publishing. Robin Shahin translated it from Swedish.

04/27/2025

Karam’s Work: Pain, Migration and Motherhood

Kurdish author Balsam Karam’s novel “Yekaneyî” has been published by Pall Publishing. Robin Shahin has translated it from Swedish into Kurdish.

The novel tells the story of two women. One woman searches for her daughter. She searches along a coastal road. Her daughter used to work there. She goes mad with grief and pain. She walks back and forth on that road. Another woman carries a dead child in her womb. She walks on the same coastal road. She witnesses a woman throwing herself into the water. After this, she refuses to let them remove her dead child from her womb.

Reception of the Novel

This novel explores pain, migration and motherhood. Its narrative is layered. It is spiral-like. It is enigmatic. It has been enthusiastically received in many countries.

Viola Bao from Dagens Nyheter newspaper says: “Balsam Karam’s language is challenging. It shakes readers.” Fredrik Backman also notes: “Balsam Karam is an original voice. She emerged from Scandinavia.”

Who is Balsam Karam?

Balsam Karam is a Kurdish author. She was born in Tehran in 1983. When she was seven years old, she moved to Sweden. Her first book “Händelsehorisonten” (Event Horizon) was published in 2018. “Yekaneyî” (2021) is her second book. It is her first book to be translated into Kurdish.

She works at the Rinkeby library. She is a professor at Gothenburg University. She is the director of the master’s program. She lives in Stockholm. She writes in Swedish.

Balsam Karam writes about the pains of exile. She writes about loss and resistance. Her language is poetic. Her language is sensitive. Her language is challenging. She focuses on stories of women and children. In her childhood, she wanted to become an astronomer and artist. That’s why there is a space theme in her novels.

Source: Botan Times, Pall Publishing

Botan Times