Shortlisted for the 2023 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, this novel explores the lives of a marginalized community of legal and illegal immigrants in a bleak, fictional town called “Shining Sun” on the US border. It is a polyphonic narrative of shattered dreams, identity crises, and the harsh realities of exile, framed by the suicides of two young residents. The novel’s title is deeply ironic, contrasting the hopeful name of the town with the bleak world the characters inhabit. This is a key example of contemporary Arabic literature’s engagement with the “diaspora novel,” moving beyond simple tales of culture shock to a more profound critique of the dehumanizing aspects of global capitalism and the false promise of the “American Dream.”