- Ḥayāh Mayitāh – Qiṣaṣ min Ghazah (2013, English trans. The Book of Gaza, 2014), edited by ʿĀṭif Abū Sayf (written elsewhere as Atef Abu Saif, 1973-, Palestine), is a collection of short stories from different Palestinian authors that focus on the city of Gaza. Contributing writers include Najlaa Ataalah, whose story ‘The Whore of Gaza’ centres a 33-year-old virgin, Talal Abu Shawish’s ‘Red Lights’ about a taxi driver dispensing charity, and Ghareeb Asqalani, who writes about familial love between Muslims and Jews in her short story ‘A White Flower for David’ (reference). The Book of Gaza is part of Comma Press’ ‘Reading the City’ collection that also includes The Book of Khartoum (see Sudan in this section) and The Book of Cairo (see Egypt in this section) (also in W: West Band and Gaza).
- Selma Dabbagh (1970-, Palestine/UK) – Out of It (2011). Written in English, this novel represents the scatterdness of the Palestinian people through one family: the Mujaheds. The novel is set in Gaza, where the family shares an apartment during the second intifada. In the gloomy living conditions and with the constant war sounds on the background, each member looks for their own way to escape. For not only the Israeli siege is oppressive, but also the internal religious and political competition between Palestinian parties (reference). The novel treats the Palestinian identity and asks the question to what extent this identity is politicised both inside and outside of Palestine (also in 2000 – 2005 Second Intifada).
Refrences:
- WB Gooderham. 2014. “The Book of Gaza: A City in Short Fiction – review.” www.theguardian.com https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/01/the-book-of-gaza-a-city-in-short-fiction-review 1 August 2014 (last accessed 10 April 2021)
- Robin Yassin-Kassab. 2012. “Out of It by Selma Dabbagh- review.” www.theguardian.com, 6 January 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/06/out-of-it-selma-dabbagh-review (last accessed 7 May 2018)