During the Syrian war, his father’s sheltered library went up in flames. Rafik Schami is now turning one of the few books he saved into a new novel. For a coffee with a passionate storyteller.
Rafik Schami is sitting in a courtyard planted with ivy in the middle of Munich. “Almost like here in Damascus,” he says, looking up at a chain of lights hanging above him. Rafik Schami wears a light blue denim shirt under a dark blue bomber jacket, he is punctual to the minute. The chemistry between the writer and the waiter in Café Guglhupf is right immediately, and he thanks him three times for his friendliness. “When someone is in a good mood, it feels so good,” says Schami, leaning back.