More Information & Critical Reviews
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, and her essays and political commentaries have appeared in print and international news media.
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.
‘In this moving and nuanced novel, Abulhawa takes a hard look at the inheritance of exile and the intersection of the political with the personal, as Nahr’s story reveals the complexity beneath the simple narratives told on both sides of a deep divide.’ Booklist
‘Abulhawa’s writing shines … Friendship, adolescence, love: ordinary events, offset against extraordinary circumstances, make the story live’ Independent
‘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
‘Hard to bear but impossible to ignore … Shows how history’s assault on each person is public, and how it nevertheless cannot extinguish the private experience of grief or the secret sense of eros. Abulhawa’s vision is precise, courageous, and dazzling’ Teju Cole
‘In true Thousand and One Nights style, Abulhawa surprises us by continually unfolding new stories … Characters struggle to keep their secrets, but Abulhawa releases them. These are secrets we need to know, secrets that will educate us about ourselves’ Guardian
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