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jujubeees's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
scottp's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of mind-blowing stuff + one of the strangest stories I’ve ever read.
lorgmorg's review against another edition
medium-paced
5.0
“Israel’s seventy-year programme of systemic ethnic cleansing is one long, ongoing extension of the event that took place in 1948…
This ‘ongoing Nakba’ is also continually evolving. We are forever entering new stages of it.”
- Basma Ghalayini, June 2019
Reading this book as current events unfold has been particularly chilling. Favorite stories were The Key by Anwar Hamed, and The Curse of the Mudball Kid by Mazen Maarouf.
“Can any of you prove that they are the ghosts and not us?”
This ‘ongoing Nakba’ is also continually evolving. We are forever entering new stages of it.”
- Basma Ghalayini, June 2019
Reading this book as current events unfold has been particularly chilling. Favorite stories were The Key by Anwar Hamed, and The Curse of the Mudball Kid by Mazen Maarouf.
“Can any of you prove that they are the ghosts and not us?”
jamesanthony80s's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
3.0
lsaligmander's review against another edition
3.0
Science fiction isn’t really my thing but I found the concept of this book interesting enough to give it a try.
I found the stories to be hit or miss. Something that struck me about the collection overall was how humanly and sympathetically the Israeli characters portrayed, even though the amorphous government in the stories did horrible things.
My two favorite stories were the first (about the Gaza suicide and freedom of digital return) because the idea of creating a world made of collective memory and the impossibility or keeping the bad memories from seeping in seemed to mirror the present in an eerie way. I also liked the last story (about the mud ball kid), because of the magical realism and how it managed to hit home in a striking way despite having so many elements of fantasy.
I think overall that’s what I did appreciate about the book, despite its shortcomings: that it used technology and fantasy as a way of conveying the present through analogy, which allowed an outsider like me to see it differently.
I found the stories to be hit or miss. Something that struck me about the collection overall was how humanly and sympathetically the Israeli characters portrayed, even though the amorphous government in the stories did horrible things.
My two favorite stories were the first (about the Gaza suicide and freedom of digital return) because the idea of creating a world made of collective memory and the impossibility or keeping the bad memories from seeping in seemed to mirror the present in an eerie way. I also liked the last story (about the mud ball kid), because of the magical realism and how it managed to hit home in a striking way despite having so many elements of fantasy.
I think overall that’s what I did appreciate about the book, despite its shortcomings: that it used technology and fantasy as a way of conveying the present through analogy, which allowed an outsider like me to see it differently.
laurareads87's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Palestine +100 is a collection of short stories and one novella, each by a different Palestinian author and each envisioning 2048 Palestine. Urgent, gut-wrenching, and wide-ranging; this is difficult reading, but there is some humour in some places too. Inevitably, as this is an anthology, some stories stood out more than others. Ghalayini's introduction is vital reading for context.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Child death, War, Death, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Suicide
afonsob's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
pipn_t's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A diverse collection of stories, it was an interesting read. My favourite story was “Final Warning”