Author(s): Susan Abulhawa

Novel | Middle East | Palestine & Israel

Nahr has been confined to the Cube: nine square metres of glossy grey cinderblock, devoid of time, its patterns of light and dark nothing to do with day and night. Journalists visit her, but get nowhere; because Nahr is not going to share her story with them. The world outside calls Nahr a terrorist, and a whore; some might call her a revolutionary, or a hero. But the truth is, Nahrhas always been many things, and had many names.
She was a girl who learned, early and painfully, that when you are a second class citizen love is a kind of desperation; she learned, above all else, to survive. She was a girl who went to Palestine in the wrong shoes, and without looking for it found what she had always lacked in the basement of a battered beauty parlour: purpose, politics, friends. She found a dark-eyed man called Bilal, who taught her to resist; who tried to save her when it was already too late. Nahr sits in the Cube, and tells her story to Bilal. Bilal, who isn't there; Bilal, who may not even be alive, but who is heronly reason to get out.

Review: A thrilling, defiant novel ... Reads as a riot act against oppression, misogyny, and shame -- FATIMA BHUTTO
Abulhawa's novel is a love story ... She elegantly crafts a world where the tension between desire and survival is laid bare * New Yorker *
A powerful and subversive story of trauma and survival for fans of My Sister, The Serial Killer and Her Body and Other Parties * The Millions *
Susan Abulhawa has reached greater heights with her new and courageous novel. Wide in its scope and breadth it is a lively, exciting book that is difficult to put down. The work of a seasoned, accomplished writer, this is a bold and dazzling work which is sure to arouse controversy -- RAJA SHEHADAH
Nahr is a wonderful creation, strong-willed, passionate, unapologetic and adventurous. Her refusal to accept the subordination expected of her propels the story at a thrilling pace. Her determination to find love in a loveless world and her unquenchable spirit in adversity shines a ray of hope into some very dark places -- MICHAEL PALIN
A fearless work of imagination and documentary gathering power and depth as it sweeps along -- AHDAF SOUEIF
A masterpiece ... Forces us to wrestle with the complexities of love, freedom, struggle, and shame in ways that both inspire and challenge our very conceptions of what it means to be human. A major literary contribution that further cements Abulhawa's status as one of the most important writers of our generation -- MARC LAMONT HILL
The writer's pain - and the beauty of her prose - are very real * Daily Telegraph *
One of the most thought-provoking books I've read ... written with passion and honesty, and poetry * Daily Mail *
Abulhawa's writing shines ... Friendship, adolescence, love: ordinary events, offset against extraordinary circumstances, make the story live * Independent *

Author Biography: Susan Abulhawa was born to refugees of the Six Day War of 1967, when her family's land was seized and Israel captured what remained of Palestine, including Jerusalem. She moved to the USA as a teenager, graduated in biomedical science and established a career in medical science. In July 2001, she founded Playgrounds for Palestine, a children's organisation dedicated to upholding The Right to Play for Palestinian children. She is the author of two novels, Mornings in Jenin, which was an international bestseller, and The Blue Between Sky and Water, and a book of poems. She lives in Pennsylvania with her daughter.