The Book of Disappearance
Published on 1. August 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
978-1-916751-02-6 (ISBN)
Description
Longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize
Alaa is haunted by his grandmother's memories of being displaced from Jaffa and becoming a refugee in her homeland after the Nakba. Ariel, Alaa's neighbour and friend, is a liberal Zionist, critical of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet faithful to the project of Israel. When he wakes up one morning to find that all Palestinians have suddenly vanished, Ariel begins searching for clues to the secret of their collective disappearance.
That search, and Ariel's reactions to it, intimately reveal the fissures at the heart of the Palestinian question. Between the stories of Alaa and Ariel are the people of Jaffa and Tel Aviv - cafe patrons, radio commentators, flower-cutters - against whose ordinary lives these fissures and questions play out.
'Speculative and haunting, this is an exceptional exercise in memory-making and psycho-geography' The International Booker Prize 2025 Judges
Alaa is haunted by his grandmother's memories of being displaced from Jaffa and becoming a refugee in her homeland after the Nakba. Ariel, Alaa's neighbour and friend, is a liberal Zionist, critical of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet faithful to the project of Israel. When he wakes up one morning to find that all Palestinians have suddenly vanished, Ariel begins searching for clues to the secret of their collective disappearance.
That search, and Ariel's reactions to it, intimately reveal the fissures at the heart of the Palestinian question. Between the stories of Alaa and Ariel are the people of Jaffa and Tel Aviv - cafe patrons, radio commentators, flower-cutters - against whose ordinary lives these fissures and questions play out.
'Speculative and haunting, this is an exceptional exercise in memory-making and psycho-geography' The International Booker Prize 2025 Judges
Reviews / Votes
'Unquestionably powerful.' Words Without Borders 'A wonderful book, showing ... what the Palestinians have suffered and continue to suffer.' The Modern Novel 'A masterpiece which immediately leads the reader to ponder the historical foundations of the 1948 Nakba, as well as the Zionist intentions and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the land where they belong.' Middle East Monitor 'The Book of Disappearance ... in a stunning translation by poet Sinan Antoon ... could not be more timely.' Catherine Taylor, Irish Times 'Seductively bold ... This rich, potent novel reminds us that there are no easy answers.' John Self, The Guardian 'Incredible ... beautifully translated by Sinan Antoon ... In The Book of Disappearance, silence is cold, it doesn't respond, it haunts.' Sarah Shaffi, Jhalak Review 'A thought-provoking examination of the complex dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian cohabitation.' Angel Gurria-Quintana, 2024 Books of the Year, Financial Times 'Speculative and haunting, this is an exceptional exercise in memory-making and psycho-geography' The International Booker Prize 2025 Judges -- The International Booker Prize 2025 JudgesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
High Wycombe
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
187 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-916751-02-6 (9781916751026)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Ibtisam Azem is a Palestinian novelist and journalist. She has published two novels in Arabic: Sariq al-Nawm (The Sleep Thief, 2011) and Sifr al-Ikhtifaa (The Book of Disappearance, 2014). The Book of Disappearance has been published in English, German, and Italian. She lives in New York. Sinan Antoon is a poet, novelist, and translator. He holds degrees from Baghdad, Georgetown, and Harvard, where he specialized in Arabic literature. He has published five novels and three poetry collections. His most recent work is Postcards from the Underworld (Seagull 2023). His translation of Mahmoud Darwish's In the Presence of Absence won the 2012 American Literary Translators' Award. He is an associate professor at New York University.