A few days ago, we asked our readers on social media to share with us the title of their favorite books on Palestine, based on the following criteria:
1. Nominated books must be written by Palestinian scholars.
2. Titles should exclude books written by Palestine Chronicle editors.
3. Suggested titles must be for books written originally in the English language.
Based on our readers’ comments, please find the top three titles below.
Feel free to share your comments below the article of your favorite books on Palestine, and, if you haven’t already, we hope that you obtain and read at least one of these books.
MORNINGS IN JENIN
(Mornings in Jenin: A Novel, Susan Abulhawa, Bloomsbury, New York, 2010)
“Mornings in Jenin is a multi-generational story about a Palestinian family. Forcibly removed from the olive-farming village of Ein Hod by the newly formed state of Israel in 1948, the Abulhejos are displaced to live in canvas tents in the Jenin refugee camp. We follow the Abulhejo family as they live through a half-century of violent history.” (Text: Amazon)
– Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian American novelist, poet, and political essayist.
OUT OF PLACE
(Out of Place: A Memoir, Edward W. Said, Granta Books, London, 2000)
From one of the most important intellectuals of our time comes an extraordinary story of exile and a celebration of an irrecoverable past. A fatal medical diagnosis in 1991 convinced Edward Said that he should leave a record of where he was born and spent his childhood, and so with this memoir, he rediscovers the lost Arab world of his early years in Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt. (Text: Penguin Random House)
– Edward W. Said was a Palestinian American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.
PALESTINE: A FOUR THOUSAND YEAR HISTORY
(Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History, Nur Masalha, Zed, London, 2018)
“This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine’s millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history.” (Text: Amazon)
– Professor Nur Masalha is a Palestinian writer, historian and academic. He is currently a member of the Center for Palestine Studies, SOAS, University of London.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
I strongly recommend
1) Peaceful Resistance by Gabi Baramki
about the founding of Birzeit University
and 2) A Doctor in Galilee by Hatim Kanaaneh
I should have included..all worth reading:
1) I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish
2) Raja Shehadeh ‘s books Strangers in the House and Palestinian Walks and When the Birds Stopped Singing
3) Amira Suad’s books Sharon and my Mother-in-law and Golda Slept Here
4) Mourid Barghouti’s books I Saw Ramallah and I was born Here I was Born There
and look for poetry..including Samah Sabawi’s poems
I strongly recommend the novel “Vanished: The Mysterious Disappearance of Mustafa Ouda” written by Ahmed Masoud, from Gaza, currently living in london.