A review by 3tteelia
Palestine +100: Stories from a century after the Nakba by Basma Ghalayini

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

For me, the concept of using sci-fi and other forms of imaginative fiction to envision Palestine 100 years after the Nakba was an amazing one and I really looked forward to this book. However, I was shocked to see that none of the authors chose to use fiction as a tool to imagine a liberated Palestine and what that would look like, but instead allowed it as a method of furthering Israel’s oppression and colonisation of Palestine. While I understand that it is a ‘realistic’ take on sci-fi in Palestine, I was looking for something outrageously hopeful and happy (perhaps because I use fiction as a way of getting away from the reality). Also, I didn’t enjoy the plots of most of the short stories and only 2 or 3 of them stood out to me as truly imaginative and interesting.

Overall, this book left me depressed and frustrated every time I read it, and I personally didn’t enjoy the stories.