The Age of Silence
Iraq

The Age of Silence

by Alaa Al-Musalli

War & Conflict Historical Fiction 2026

Summary

In Baghdad, under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, Bedria fights to hold her family together as war, political repression, and bitter rivalries threaten to destroy everything she loves. With one son missing in battle and a family fortune fuelling resentment among relatives, she faces struggles that extend far beyond the battlefield. Bound by the silence imposed by political power and cultural expectations, Bedria must navigate a world where women carry enormous burdens while their suffering remains largely unseen. Inspired by real events during the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War, The Age of Silence is a moving family saga about the hidden costs of conflict, the sacrifices of motherhood, and the wounds that survive long after the fighting ends. It is a tribute to the women who quietly endure war while fighting to preserve their families, their dignity, and their hope.

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Country
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About the author
Alaa Al-Musalli
Alaa Al-Musalli

Alaa Al-Musalli is an Iraqi-born writer, academic, and professor of communication and media at Capilano University in British Columbia, Canada. Having grown up in Iraq, she witnessed the wars and political upheavals that later inspired her fiction. She holds a master’s degree in English and Linguistics from Baghdad University and a PhD in Linguistics from Bangor University in Wales. She also graduated from Simon Fraser University’s Writers’ Studio program in 2019 and completed its Graduate TWS Workshop in 2023. Before publishing her debut novel, Al-Musalli wrote short stories shaped by her experiences of war, including Ghost in the Sky and The Inconvenient Oath. Her debut, The Age of Silence (2026), draws on real events and family history to explore dictatorship, motherhood, and the emotional toll of conflict. Describing herself as an antiwar writer, she seeks to give a voice to mothers and other people whose suffering is often overlooked in accounts of war. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

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Details
Published
2026
Author
Alaa Al-Musalli