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qqjj's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Colonisation
azrah786's review against another edition
4.0
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
CW: violence, police brutality, colonialism, war, genocide, murder, death, grief, racism, xenophobia islamophobia, hate crime, miscarriage/abortion, infidelity
--
Enter Ghost is a story about a British theatre actress with Palestinian heritage who after years spent away returns to Haifa to visit her sister as a way to get away from the end of a bad relationship. Childhood trauma as well as family issues mean Sonia feels a detachment from Haifa and Palestine as a whole but getting pulled into doing an Arabic production of Hamlet in the West Bank allows her to start renewing her relationship with her family’s homeland.
This is a multi-faceted book that not only brilliantly explores art as a form of resistance but also focuses on the casual drama that occurs within a theatre production as well as more personal relationship dynamics, both familial and romantic. This is all tied together with themes of identity, belonging and perseverance, particularly with regards to the lived experiences of Palestinians under occupation. Not only do we get perspectives from the West Bank but also that of Palestinians on the “inside” who have grown up post 1948 and currently live in those areas that were sieged during the Nakba.
There is never a preachy tone to how any of this is addressed but the underlying messages cannot be more clear-cut than when the exact events that are being immortalised via fictional text are being recorded on social media for the world to witness in real time.
Hammad’s prose is brilliant though I actually struggled with getting into the story initially as the writing is very much attuned to the personality and emotions of our protagonist. Sonia isn’t the most vibrant of characters and her mannerisms at times make her a little unlikeable. I was more drawn to her strained relationship with her family members than I was to her romantic life but it was the use and performance of Hamlet within the story which stood out most to me.
Hamlet is one of the Shakespeare plays that I didn’t study in school and never got around to reading but let me tell you when you read this book your understanding of the classic will be altered whether or not you’re familiar with the original.
The narrative does jump to a script format every now and again when the theatre group are assembled, rehearsing and speculating about the play which I feel at times worked and at others disrupted the flow of the overall story which was another minor grievance I had with the book. However, the portrayal of how culture and the arts are a source of hope in the face of repression by apartheid and occupation was beautifully done.
The place on the Women’s Prize shortlist was well-deserved. Go read it!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
CW: violence, police brutality, colonialism, war, genocide, murder, death, grief, racism, xenophobia islamophobia, hate crime, miscarriage/abortion, infidelity
--
Enter Ghost is a story about a British theatre actress with Palestinian heritage who after years spent away returns to Haifa to visit her sister as a way to get away from the end of a bad relationship. Childhood trauma as well as family issues mean Sonia feels a detachment from Haifa and Palestine as a whole but getting pulled into doing an Arabic production of Hamlet in the West Bank allows her to start renewing her relationship with her family’s homeland.
This is a multi-faceted book that not only brilliantly explores art as a form of resistance but also focuses on the casual drama that occurs within a theatre production as well as more personal relationship dynamics, both familial and romantic. This is all tied together with themes of identity, belonging and perseverance, particularly with regards to the lived experiences of Palestinians under occupation. Not only do we get perspectives from the West Bank but also that of Palestinians on the “inside” who have grown up post 1948 and currently live in those areas that were sieged during the Nakba.
There is never a preachy tone to how any of this is addressed but the underlying messages cannot be more clear-cut than when the exact events that are being immortalised via fictional text are being recorded on social media for the world to witness in real time.
Hammad’s prose is brilliant though I actually struggled with getting into the story initially as the writing is very much attuned to the personality and emotions of our protagonist. Sonia isn’t the most vibrant of characters and her mannerisms at times make her a little unlikeable. I was more drawn to her strained relationship with her family members than I was to her romantic life but it was the use and performance of Hamlet within the story which stood out most to me.
Hamlet is one of the Shakespeare plays that I didn’t study in school and never got around to reading but let me tell you when you read this book your understanding of the classic will be altered whether or not you’re familiar with the original.
The narrative does jump to a script format every now and again when the theatre group are assembled, rehearsing and speculating about the play which I feel at times worked and at others disrupted the flow of the overall story which was another minor grievance I had with the book. However, the portrayal of how culture and the arts are a source of hope in the face of repression by apartheid and occupation was beautifully done.
The place on the Women’s Prize shortlist was well-deserved. Go read it!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and War
maziodynes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide and War
oliviaemily's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was really disappointed by this! It’s incredibly mid. The plot is slow and meandering, the characters are very two dimensional, and it doesn’t really go anywhere interesting. The synopsis is better than the book basically! I did like how some chapters were written like a play though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
amyvl93's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Racism
jono_lawrence's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Colonisation, and War
sangsmiles's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Colonisation
alyssabookrecs's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars - I really dug this.
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad is a novel that perfectly encapsulates so much of what I love to read about. The book takes risks with its prose, sliding into script when you feel the main character Sonia sort of detach from her body as though she is watching a play of her onstage and offstage experiences while acting in a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Hammad weaves together the story of the production, Sonia’s personhood and life, her family’s past, her complicated relationship with her sister Haneen, living under occupation, and so much more. Hammad thanks members of the Freedom Theatre in her acknowledgments, so I’d like to include here that the Freedom Theatre in Jenin was raided by the Israeli Occupation Forces in late 2023 and most recently the IOF also destroyed the road in between the theatre and the artistic director’s home, among other horrible things while invading Jenin. Theatre, art, and literature are ALWAYS political; targeting writers, artists, and their institutions is something the IOF continually does in a multitude of ways, explored in part by Hammad in Enter Ghost. Support Freedom Theatre in Palestine now: thefreedomtheatre.org
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad is a novel that perfectly encapsulates so much of what I love to read about. The book takes risks with its prose, sliding into script when you feel the main character Sonia sort of detach from her body as though she is watching a play of her onstage and offstage experiences while acting in a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Hammad weaves together the story of the production, Sonia’s personhood and life, her family’s past, her complicated relationship with her sister Haneen, living under occupation, and so much more. Hammad thanks members of the Freedom Theatre in her acknowledgments, so I’d like to include here that the Freedom Theatre in Jenin was raided by the Israeli Occupation Forces in late 2023 and most recently the IOF also destroyed the road in between the theatre and the artistic director’s home, among other horrible things while invading Jenin. Theatre, art, and literature are ALWAYS political; targeting writers, artists, and their institutions is something the IOF continually does in a multitude of ways, explored in part by Hammad in Enter Ghost. Support Freedom Theatre in Palestine now: thefreedomtheatre.org
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, and Colonisation
tashtasher's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Abandonment and Alcohol