In Search of Fatima
A Palestinian Story
Published on 17. May 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
456 pages
978-1-85984-561-5 (ISBN)
Description
An intimate and powerful narrative in which the Israel-Palestine conflict is presented, unusually, from the Palestinian side, In Search of Fatima reflects the author's personal experiences of displacement, loss and nostalgia against a backdrop of the major political events which have shaped Middle East conflict.
In Search of Fatima is a powerful biographical story, but it is also a book which transcends its author's own experience. It speaks for the millions of people all over the world who have lived suspended between their old and new countries, fitting into neither. An account not of the physical hardship and abuse suffered by many refugees, but rather an exploration of the subtler privations of psychological displacement and loss of identity.
In Search of Fatima is a powerful biographical story, but it is also a book which transcends its author's own experience. It speaks for the millions of people all over the world who have lived suspended between their old and new countries, fitting into neither. An account not of the physical hardship and abuse suffered by many refugees, but rather an exploration of the subtler privations of psychological displacement and loss of identity.
Reviews / Votes
Keenly observed, fierce, honest and yet light of touch, Ms Karmi's memoir of dislocation illlustrates just how inseparable, for many people, the personal and the political still can be. * Economist * Ghada Karmi's compelling and beautifully written narrative is more than a personal memoir. It enables the reader to understand and to empathise with the psychological dislocation of exile that continues to fuel the Palestinian cause ... -- Karen Armstrong * Independent * Karmi's great achievement is to humanise the Palestinian predicament. Violent uprooting and exile have permanent psychological effects, which, as the Jewish people discovered, are not necessarily assuaged by the passage of time. We need counter-narratives like this, because we have recently learnt that it is not only parochial but also dangerous to ignore the pain and rights of others. * Independent * This is an important memoir, beautifully written by an intelligent, sensitive woman that fills a void in studies of Zionism. It should help those of us who do not understand why growing numbers of Muslims and not a few Christians have lost faith with Western pretensions of fairness. * Financial Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
560 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85984-561-5 (9781859845615)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
07/2009
2nd Edition
Verso Books
€53.47
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Person
Ghada Karmi was born in Jerusalem and trained as a doctor of medicine at Bristol University. She established the first British-Palestinian medical charity in 1972 and was an Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute for International Affairs. Her previous books include Jerusalem Today: What Future for the Peace Process? and the best-selling In Search of Fatima. She writes frequently for the Guardian and the Nation.