Shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award for Fiction. "Her writing is poetic and reverential. The author's understanding of love, romance, and responsibility runs deep." - Books + Publishing

What happens when we become used to each other, when we become bored, when we anticipate each other's moods like the seasons cycled in a day? What happens when you are tired of me and I tire of you? Every couple has a story: how they met, how they fell in love, their ups and downs, and what made them want to be in each other's arms day and night. The struggle of family expectations, the need to please each other, and the desire to go their separate ways. It is about the private universe between two people as they try to hold on to each other despite the barriers of geography, culture, and class. Every couple has a beginning, a middle, and maybe an end.

The Lovers is an enchanting fable that explores the light and dark of a relationship—a love distilled down to its barest form. You might think you know this story. Maybe you do.

Praise for The Lovers: "Sometimes, Kassab shows us, love can be another word for cruelty. Sometimes the stories we hide behind reveal our deepest truths." - Sydney Morning Herald. "Beautifully told in Yumna Kassab's poetic prose, The Lovers is both the story of the tumultuous relationship between Amir and Jamila and an exploration of class, culture, and the complex nature of love." - Sunday Life. "The delicate power that fables hold—their universality, while retaining their specificity—is captured in The Lovers. Ultimately, Kassab's novel rests on the premise of the impossibility of language, of being able to ever understand someone else." - Artshub. "A raw, haunting, and honest look at love, relationships, and the moments that break us." - Mamamia.

Praise for Yumna Kassab: "The real deal." - Favel Parrett.