Three Parties

Three Parties paints a portrait of a family whose calm surface belies the damage of displacement and assimilation. Using the deceptively simple device of a day in the life of an eloquently flawed protagonist as he prepares to finally reveal his true queer self, Ziyad Saadi has crafted an authentic and moving novel that explores the thrill and danger of stepping off the precipice into an unknown future, the impact of secrets and shame, the trauma of a homeland left behind, and the futility of trying to control destiny. Veering expertly from humour to heartbreak, the timeline is both fluid and frozen, allowing decades of memory to flood into the present in shattering moments of revelation. This is a coming-out story like no other: elegant and witty, while embracing a depth of pain with courage and candour. - 2025 Dayne Ogilvie Prize Jury (Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, Darrin Hagen, and Janika Oza)Exceptional begets exceptional in the case of . . . Ziyad Saadi’s Three Parties . . . that interpolate[s] Woolf’s seminal, century-old work. [Saadi’s] capable modernizing nods to the timelessness of Woolf as well as to the value of 21st-century adaptations. . . . Three Parties, set in 2016, first registers less as based on Mrs. Dalloway than inspired by it. . . . Saadi’s considerable feat is an impressive tragicomic balancing act. . . . The Woolfian undercurrents, though, steadily seep through to the surface of this novel that shares tropes in common with family-holiday-reunion comedies. - Quill & Quire (Full Review)A politically sophisticated and often wickedly funny first novel, grounded in the foibles of human nature and how we respond to them. - The British Columbia Review (Full Review)CBC's List of 21 Canadian Books We're Excited to Read in AugustBook Riot's 10 Most Anticipated Queer Books of 2025Autostraddle's Most Anticipated Queer Books for August 2025Write or Die's List of 23 Books We Can't Wait to Read

The Third or Fourth Casualty

It sharply reflects on the apathy of the rest of the world in response to violence against Palestinian children. - Canthius (Full Review)Akin to a dark version of a Samuel Beckett play - The Seaboard Review of Books (Full Review)

Don't Open Me

Saadi's performance is impeccable along with his sparse yet perfectly written dialogue. - The Independent Critic (Full Review)[Ziyad Saadi] plays Abdul with precise comic timing, brimming with delightfully deadpan humour. - Indie Shorts Mag (Full Review)Ziyad Saadi's short film has an eerie charm to it, that is both from the film itself, and the way it's scored. - IndyRed (Full Review)