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A review by littlepepperguy
Mother of Strangers by Suad Amiry
5.0
A must read especially after Oct. 7th, 2023. Palestinian stories need to be read.
It's incredibly written and follows characters in such an interesting way. In the initial section of the novel, it follow a 15 year old boy, Subhi, working and living in Palestine before the Nakba. He has understanding of the world in a novice way so seeing everything unfold with the Israeli occupation from the perspective of quite a naïve character lends itself to a more in depth understanding for an outside since we're learning a lot of the background with him. Everything is so grounded in earnest feeling. It also has a dark sense of humor in it, illustrating the ways in which joy can root in the harshest suffering.
As the occupation sets in the story shifts to an adult perspective of a couple housing Shams and her sisters after they were separated from their parent's during the displacement of Palestinians. Shams is Subhi's childhood sweetheart and unbeknownst to either of them actually in the same city as him.
It's a beautiful story and an essential read. I'm going to read it again this week, it was that good.
It's incredibly written and follows characters in such an interesting way. In the initial section of the novel, it follow a 15 year old boy, Subhi, working and living in Palestine before the Nakba. He has understanding of the world in a novice way so seeing everything unfold with the Israeli occupation from the perspective of quite a naïve character lends itself to a more in depth understanding for an outside since we're learning a lot of the background with him. Everything is so grounded in earnest feeling. It also has a dark sense of humor in it, illustrating the ways in which joy can root in the harshest suffering.
As the occupation sets in the story shifts to an adult perspective of a couple housing Shams and her sisters after they were separated from their parent's during the displacement of Palestinians. Shams is Subhi's childhood sweetheart and unbeknownst to either of them actually in the same city as him.
It's a beautiful story and an essential read. I'm going to read it again this week, it was that good.