Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TW: child loss, violence, death
•
•
•
My second read this year by Isabella Hammad. I was able to keep pace with Enter Ghost much better than I was The Parisian. The scope of EG was much smaller, but still dug deep into the historical and political context of Palestine.
Hammad is very skilled in writing protagonists who are both within and without. She paints a mournful picture of visiting and spending time in a homeland that you cannot legally lay claim to. She examines how colonialism impacts all walks of life, even something as seemingly mundane as regional theatre.
I thought the framing of this novel was so unique and I didn’t realize how deeply political Hamlet was/had the capacity to be. A great read and a very interesting read considering the current events in Palestine. At times, this is a heavy read, but important. Not one I’d recommend lightly, but would recommend.
•
•
•
My second read this year by Isabella Hammad. I was able to keep pace with Enter Ghost much better than I was The Parisian. The scope of EG was much smaller, but still dug deep into the historical and political context of Palestine.
Hammad is very skilled in writing protagonists who are both within and without. She paints a mournful picture of visiting and spending time in a homeland that you cannot legally lay claim to. She examines how colonialism impacts all walks of life, even something as seemingly mundane as regional theatre.
I thought the framing of this novel was so unique and I didn’t realize how deeply political Hamlet was/had the capacity to be. A great read and a very interesting read considering the current events in Palestine. At times, this is a heavy read, but important. Not one I’d recommend lightly, but would recommend.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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:
Complicated
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Please read this book. It’s an important and significant one.
4.5 ⭐️ because the theater part of the story, when the participants at the play were rehearsing was a bit uninteresting to me, however it is a must read.
4.5 ⭐️ because the theater part of the story, when the participants at the play were rehearsing was a bit uninteresting to me, however it is a must read.
“I was born a few months before the Nakba. You know this. You know what it means? It means it was already my reality. I didn’t know what it was before.”
Sonia Nasir, our protagonist, is an actress in her late thirties who decides to visit her older sister, Haneen in Haifa, to escape an affair with a director in London. In Haifa, Mariam, a friend of Haneen, asks Sonia to take part in an Arabic production of Hamlet, she's directing in the West Bank.
Isabella Hammad has written a book that explores Palestinian identity, art, living under an occupation, motherhood, unbelonging, loneliness, and ghosts that haunts us.
“If we let disaster stand in our way, we will never do anything. Every day here is a disaster.”
She explores the uneasy relationship between Sonia and Haneen, Sonia's attempt to understanding Palestine since her absence; struggles under occupation, making art under an occupation, checkpoint challenges, arrests, interrogations, protests, not being able to live life as you wish. And the looming question if they will be allowed to make their performance.
We learn more about Sonia and Palestine between the past and present, as we get flashbacks to the past, giving us an insight into their experiences that shaped them.
Enter Ghost was my first introduction to Isabella Hammad's writing, which was very detailed and measured. It is a sensitive novel in the way that it's attuned to the nuances and feelings of its characters, especially Sonia. I didn't particulary care for Sonia, as I found her quite annoying. But despite that, I still felt her through Hammad's writing. It showed Sonia's sense of unbelonging, longing and loneliness, as well as the crushing weight of history.
I didn't care about Sonia's romantic interests at all. I liked the focus on the family dynamics and the building tension between Sonia and Haneen, and the building presence of the occupation that Sonia can't escape, the most. And felt like it could have been explored more.
The story unfolds in descriptive prose, and there is a good character development. Hammad also cleverly blends the action of her novel with the act of staging the play. At points there are extracts of Hamlet in script format, then in some places the action of the novel itself is played out in script format. It was a clever way to blend theatre and literature to her writing and added something unique.
The end still has me thinking, and the book leaves much room for thoughts and questions.
"We haunt them. They want to kill us but we will not die. Even now we've lost nearly everything."
What are the ghosts that haunts the novel?
_________________
Initital thoughts:
Ah need to wrap my thoughts around how to describe this
Sonia Nasir, our protagonist, is an actress in her late thirties who decides to visit her older sister, Haneen in Haifa, to escape an affair with a director in London. In Haifa, Mariam, a friend of Haneen, asks Sonia to take part in an Arabic production of Hamlet, she's directing in the West Bank.
Isabella Hammad has written a book that explores Palestinian identity, art, living under an occupation, motherhood, unbelonging, loneliness, and ghosts that haunts us.
“If we let disaster stand in our way, we will never do anything. Every day here is a disaster.”
She explores the uneasy relationship between Sonia and Haneen, Sonia's attempt to understanding Palestine since her absence; struggles under occupation, making art under an occupation, checkpoint challenges, arrests, interrogations, protests, not being able to live life as you wish. And the looming question if they will be allowed to make their performance.
We learn more about Sonia and Palestine between the past and present, as we get flashbacks to the past, giving us an insight into their experiences that shaped them.
Enter Ghost was my first introduction to Isabella Hammad's writing, which was very detailed and measured. It is a sensitive novel in the way that it's attuned to the nuances and feelings of its characters, especially Sonia. I didn't particulary care for Sonia, as I found her quite annoying. But despite that, I still felt her through Hammad's writing. It showed Sonia's sense of unbelonging, longing and loneliness, as well as the crushing weight of history.
I didn't care about Sonia's romantic interests at all. I liked the focus on the family dynamics and the building tension between Sonia and Haneen, and the building presence of the occupation that Sonia can't escape, the most. And felt like it could have been explored more.
The story unfolds in descriptive prose, and there is a good character development. Hammad also cleverly blends the action of her novel with the act of staging the play. At points there are extracts of Hamlet in script format, then in some places the action of the novel itself is played out in script format. It was a clever way to blend theatre and literature to her writing and added something unique.
The end still has me thinking, and the book leaves much room for thoughts and questions.
"We haunt them. They want to kill us but we will not die. Even now we've lost nearly everything."
What are the ghosts that haunts the novel?
_________________
Initital thoughts:
Ah need to wrap my thoughts around how to describe this