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Men in the Sun
Ghassan Kanafani
Novel, 1963. Translated from Arabic
Novella of three Palestinian refugees smuggled toward Kuwait, capturing the dispossession and desperation of the post-1948 camps.
Books set in Palestine
Four books by writers from Palestine, set there, that give a real sense of the place, starting with Men in the Sun and Mornings in Jenin.
About the literature of Palestine
Ghassan Kanafani's novella Men in the Sun, about three Palestinian refugees smuggled toward Kuwait, is among the best-known works of Palestinian fiction. Kanafani, who was killed in Beirut in 1972, wrote in Arabic, as many Palestinian authors do, though some, such as Susan Abulhawa, write in English. The events of 1948, which Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe, shape much of this writing, and its authors have worked in exile and under occupation.
Kanafani's Returning to Haifa tells of a couple who go back to the city in 1967 to find the son they lost in 1948. Emile Habiby's The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist is a satire about a Palestinian citizen of Israel, evoking Haifa and Acre. Abulhawa's Mornings in Jenin traces a family from the village of Ein Hod in 1948 through the Jenin camp and the later occupation.
By writers from Palestine
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Mornings in Jenin
Susan Abulhawa
Novel, 2010
Multigenerational saga from the village of Ein Hod in 1948 through the Jenin camp, Sabra and Shatila, and the later occupation.
Returning to Haifa
Ghassan Kanafani
Novel, 1969. Translated from Arabic
A couple return to Haifa in 1967 to find the son they lost in 1948, confronting exile, memory and identity.
The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist
Emile Habiby
Novel, 1974. Translated from Arabic by Salma Khadra Jayyusi and Trevor LeGassick
Satirical novel of a Palestinian citizen of Israel, evoking Haifa and Acre and the absurdities of survival after 1948.
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