Pay No Heed to the Rockets

Reviews / Votes

'A masterful work. Di Cintio weaves together history with a sense of place, character and dialogue infused with humour, to produce a contemporary portrait of a people who continue to resist both occupation and simple categorisation.' Selma Dabbagh; 'Di Cintio's lucid account of present-day Palestine is the inspired portrait of a nation in dialogue with its ghosts past and future affirming its right to be. This is a necessary book for our bewildered times.' Alberto Manguel; 'A powerful journey through Palestine's contemporary culture, where silenced authors defend themselves, female writers speak loudly and stolen private libraries are restored.' Atef Abu Saif; 'One of the best travel writers of his generation ... Marcello Di Cintio tells compelling and engrossing stories with his customary mix of vivid detail, a strong sense of history, a lovely sense of humour and, above all, a fascination with the human race in all its contradictions.' Margaret MacMillan, author of Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World; 'What [Di Cintio] does do, bravely and forcefully, and with impressive commitment, is to bear witness to the suffering of people.' The Guardian; '[Di Cintio] writes well, unpicking some of the world's trouble spots in spare and lucid prose.' Literary Review; `Di Cintio writes with clarity and grace, [and] portrays the writers with modesty and empathy ... Even for a reader familiar with Palestinian literature, Pay No Heed to the Rockets uncovers stories from the past with emotional vivacity and brings to life the lengths to which prisoners went in order to educate themselves and others, and to write ... Di Cintio weaves together history with a sense of place and infuses character with dialogue and humour to produce a contemporary portrait of a people who continue to resist both occupation and simple categorisation in this masterful work.' Electronic Intifada; 'With humility, respect, and great sensitivity, [Di Cintio] seeks out writers, people skilled at telling stories, and asks them to narrate their own situations. The result is a document that captures not only the manifold sorrows and injustices of Palestinian life but something of its beauty, its joys, and its yearning.' Ben Ehrenreich, author of The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine; `A compelling read ... forces awareness in the reader of a Palestine beyond our limited imagination.' Middle East Monitor; `Interweaving history and politics, the book introduces Western readers to the modern Palestinian literary scene while celebrating the rich diversity of voices that comprise it. Illuminating reading from a highly engaged author.' Kirkus Reviews; `Traveling through the West Bank, into Jerusalem, across Israel, and into Gaza, Di Cintio reveals life in contemporary Palestinian territories through the lens of its authors, books, and literature. He meets writer Maya Abu-Alhayyat at Cafe Ramallah, smoking a nargileh under a poster of Elvis. He finds the cultural hub of Gaza at the Gallery Cafe, where he chats with theater impresario Jamal Abu al-Qumsan. Throughout he finds "no life undarkened...by conflict" but also "no life wholly defined" by it either.' National Geographic