A woman reeling from a disastrous love affair finds love and hope in
Shakespeare and Palestine
'Magnificent' OBSERVER
'Different to anything else being written right now in English' SUNDAY
TIMES
'A pretty flawless writer' THE TIMES
After years away from her family's homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love
affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. While
Haneen made a life here commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia
remained in London to focus on her acting career and now dissolute marriage.
On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep
and new.
When Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, she
joins a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing
Gertrude's lines in classical Arabic with a dedicated group of men who, in spite
of competing egos and priorities, all want to bring Shakespeare to that side of
the wall. As opening night draws closer and the warring intensifies, it becomes
clear just how many obstacles stand before the troupe. Amidst it all, the life
Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of
finding a new self in her ancestral home.
Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad's highly anticipated
second novel is an exquisite story of the connection to be found in family and
shared resistance.