Behind You Is the Sea
The 'Dazzling' Debut Novel Exploring Lives of Palestinian Families
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- USD 9.99
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- USD 9.99
Descripción editorial
Behind You Is the Sea is a compelling debut that fearlessly challenges stereotypes surrounding Palestinian culture.
'Intergenerational differences … are explored from both sides with keen-eyed humanity and understanding' Marie Claire
'Funny and beautifully written' Stylist Magazine
'A rich panoply of a community'Crack Magazine Book of the Month
'Wonderful … A novel about ordinary people fighting for what they believe to be right' Irish Independent
'A poignant reminder of our shared humanity … brimming with hope and empathy' Irish Times
Funny and touching, Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families – the Baladis, the Salamehs and the Ammars – Palestinian immigrants who've all found a different welcome in America. Their various fates and struggles cause their community dynamic to sizzle and sometimes explode, as their lives intersect across divides of class, generation and religion.
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This potent novel-in-stories from Muaddi Darraj (The Inheritance of Exile) follows a group of Palestinian Americans in Baltimore. In "Ride Along," Marcus Salameh, a U.S. Marine, is trying to mediate a conflict between his father and his sister, who's graduating from college with honors after coming out of a rough patch following an abortion. "Escorting the Body" finds Marcus returning to Palestine to bury his father and reflect on how his Baba's American dream had turned sour because of his inability to be more compassionate to his family. The title story looks at the power dynamics between rich and poor immigrants, as a young woman named Maysoon Baladi takes a job as a cleaner for the Ammars, a wealthy fellow Palestinian family. In "Gyroscopes," high school student Layla Marwan, a cousin of the Ammars, expresses concern about the negative representation of Arabs in her school's production of Aladdin, but is ignored by her adviser. Throughout, Muaddi Darraj brilliantly depicts complex characters reckoning with the costs of holding tightly to their principles. This is a beautiful portrait of a family reaching for their dreams while holding onto their roots.
