Passage to the plaza by Sahar Khalifeh

Book set in Nablus, Palestine. Reviewed on 2020/06: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBJgrRZgxwD/

Don’t be surprised if I end up choosing #passagetotheplazaby #saharkhalifeh as my #bestbookofthemonth . In this outstanding and flawless book, #khalifeh puts #palestinianwomen at the very center of the story and the only real drivers of any possible plot. Is fiction imitating life or the other way around? Nuzha, Samar, Zakia, Um Azzam are living the day to day life in #nablus during an #intifada full of multiple pandemics. Much like my mini review earlier, this is also a book about #pandemics: a pandemic of fear, a pandemic of anger, a pandemic of willful ignorance. Pandemics can’t care less about political borders and man-made divisions. It engulfs everything around from Nablus to Tel Aviv. Personally, I think Khalifeh does something that only the great writers in my world manage to do: she forces the readers to look inwards. Khalifeh is a troublemaker. It reminded me of Imre #kertész . What would happen when we manage to successfully kill each other, betray each other, stab each other over and over again? I have zero hope. But this book made my soul smiled a bit and hope for a Nuzha walking down the street shamelessly and unequivocally. After all the #Palestinian and Israeli hate equally thrown at her, she is still willing to walk and face life itself. #highlyrecommended#palestinianliterature #seagullbooks#palestine #babalsaha #saharkhalifa#saharkhalifah #‎سحر_خليفة #نابلس