Product Description
HE VIOLENCE OF LIFE IN GAZA WHICH HAS TAKEN ON IMMENSE PROPORTIONS FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE IS INTIMATELY RENDERED HERE IN A HUMAN STORY OF RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE
“Sadly, a timely look at a brutal reality.” —Kirkus Reviews
I may not be brave enough, but somewhere deep inside of me there is, perhaps, the kernel of someone who is.
That brave someone was the legendary Nusayba bint Ka’ab al Khazrajia, who fought alongside the Prophet Muhammad at the dawn of Islam, the author N.S Nuseibeh’s ancestor. In drawing on Nusayba’s stories, Nuseibeh delves into the experience of being an Arab woman today and in the distant past—taking her from superheroes and the glorification of violence to the rise of Arab feminism, to what courage looks like in the context of interminable conflict. By seeking to understand her namesake in the context of her own twenty-first century concerns, Nuseibeh links our
36 current ideas of Muslims and Arabs with their origins, exploring myth-making and identity, religion and nationhood, feminism and race.
As intimate as they are thoughtful, these linked essays offer a dazzling exploration of heritage, gender and the idea of home, while also showing how connecting with our history can help us understand ourselves and others today.
N. S. NUSEIBEH is a British-Palestinian writer and researcher, born and raised in East Jerusalem. Her interests include issues around identity, ethics, inequality, and education. She has previously written for The Atlantic and been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Namesake won the Giles St. Auburn Award—First Prize as a work-in-progress.
In the tradition of Palestinian women writers, Asmaa Alatawna a has gifted us a novel that is both personal and political, that exposes both the occupation and the patriarchy. A Long Walk from Gaza is a coming-of-age story
that follows its teenage protagonist through her battles with a strict and abusive father, the exhilaration of her first crush, confrontations with occupation soldiers, and the heartbreak of leaving her home Gaza for a new life in Europe. Beginning in Europe and working backward to her own birth and early childhood, Alatawna’s creative narration mirrors the traumas of her life and her people.
A Long Walk from Gaza not only exposes the harshness of both male authority and the stifling of the dreams 37 of girls in parallel with the devastating conditions Palestinians endure under a brutal Israeli occupation, but also
the challenges of fleeing these for a cold, alienating life in Europe. Alatawna lays these bare within a story that also
showcases moments of humor, joy, and the human capacity to survive and thrive at all costs. She skillfully weaves
together the challenges of growing up in occupied Palestine while exposing the many intersections of violence,
patriarchy, and growing up in a society that offers girls little to no compassion. Her teenage protagonist’s feminist point
of view is fresh and honest, powerfully conveying the heartbreaking truths of her life.
Born in Gaza in 1978, ASMAA ALATAWNA is a Palestinian Bedouin from the desert of Al Naqb, and a French citizen and resident of Toulouse since 2001. A graduate of English literature from the University of Al Azhar, she then obtained her masters in geopolitics from Sciences Po. While in Gaza, Asmaa worked at the Spanish press agency EFE. Alatawna is known for her involvement in art and gender issues.