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A review by lunabbly
Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
I love it when a collection of short stories has characters whose storylines intertwine with one another.
I read this while we are in month 6 of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians -- since the media has started to frame this genocide as a "war" between a resistance organization and the Israeli government. I think that Susan Muaddi Darraj does a phenomenal job of bringing out the most human emotions to the forefront while rejecting stereotypes about Palestinians and actually, drawing humor out in facing stereotypes. Aka it should make people feel like fools if they're still bought into those heinous stereotypes..
We follow stories of single mothers, complicated relationships, relationships that don't fit the traditional monogamous stereotypes. Darraj does a beautiful job of complicating storylines, characters, plots without illustrating unnecessary violence and using violence as a plot device. Even though we get shorter vignettes of people because it's a collection of short stories, we do see growth in characters. In particular Marcus, the cop (not my favorite character tbh), we see him through the lens of various characters and he himself gets 2 short stories dedicated through his perspective where we see the ending of his relationship with his girlfriend as well as with his father; and then we see him traveling back to Palestine to bury his father and he ends up marrying a Palestinian woman who is self-sufficient but also has experienced the sexual abuse traumas of war. Although I don't love the fact that he's a cop, we do see growth. There's a softness to him in the second story. As well as an appreciation for the land his ancestors came from but where he is unfamiliar. But there's no sensationalizing it, there's no exoticisizing it -- there's just a deep appreciation and a profound quietness about Palestine, Marcus's roots, and the Palestinian culture he was born into but had to reshape and remake into his own.
I highly recommend. It was full of desire, sadness, joy, and the contentment of being in community and being with oneself.
I read this while we are in month 6 of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians -- since the media has started to frame this genocide as a "war" between a resistance organization and the Israeli government. I think that Susan Muaddi Darraj does a phenomenal job of bringing out the most human emotions to the forefront while rejecting stereotypes about Palestinians and actually, drawing humor out in facing stereotypes. Aka it should make people feel like fools if they're still bought into those heinous stereotypes..
We follow stories of single mothers, complicated relationships, relationships that don't fit the traditional monogamous stereotypes. Darraj does a beautiful job of complicating storylines, characters, plots without illustrating unnecessary violence and using violence as a plot device. Even though we get shorter vignettes of people because it's a collection of short stories, we do see growth in characters. In particular Marcus, the cop (not my favorite character tbh), we see him through the lens of various characters and he himself gets 2 short stories dedicated through his perspective where we see the ending of his relationship with his girlfriend as well as with his father; and then we see him traveling back to Palestine to bury his father and he ends up marrying a Palestinian woman who is self-sufficient but also has experienced the sexual abuse traumas of war. Although I don't love the fact that he's a cop, we do see growth. There's a softness to him in the second story. As well as an appreciation for the land his ancestors came from but where he is unfamiliar. But there's no sensationalizing it, there's no exoticisizing it -- there's just a deep appreciation and a profound quietness about Palestine, Marcus's roots, and the Palestinian culture he was born into but had to reshape and remake into his own.
I highly recommend. It was full of desire, sadness, joy, and the contentment of being in community and being with oneself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Sexual violence