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British-Palestinian actor Sonia travels to Israel to visit her sister and gets roped into being in a play in the occupied West Bank. Through the narrative, Hammad reveals the realities and difficulties of life for Palestinians in Israel and the constant danger faced. I thought this was terrific and couldn‘t tear myself away from it.

Sonia returns to Haifa, Israel, to visit her sister Haneen. While there she gets pulled into a Palestinian theatre production of Hamlet. As the actors learn their lines and get there feel of the play, we get Sonia and Haneen‘s backstory. We also learn about everyday in this region, how it is to pass through checkpoints and being in the hands of the soldier doing the control, sudden demonstrations and reactions.

I finished this book on my flight back home. Such a slow, quietly powerful read and so very timely. An incredible book where everything feels just beneath the surface and between the lines. I was slightly on edge throughout the story right up until the end.

Very intriguing writing using a theatre production of Hamlet to convey underlying meanings of the conflict in Israel-Palestine. But there are a lot of unnecessary details about the protagonist who btw is unbearably dull. The audiobook narrator is simply horrendous and I think I lost so much of the charm of this book because the narrator straight up botched the reading. Overall, interesting plot but please don‘t get the audio version on audible.

I excepted them to interrogate me at the airport and they did

#FirstLineFridays

I do think I would have benefited at the time from some representation of a similar experience, though, whether in a book or a film, or even something small like a poem. Something for the company, just so I could feel I was walking down a path already trodden by other women, that I was not the first to cut my way through that wilderness.

Finally! I have the hard copy to read.

Sonia, a London-based actress of Palestinian descent goes to Israel to visit her sister. While there's she agrees to participate in a West Bank production of Hamlet. The result is a complex novel about how art can be both a personal and political force. I found it slow but gripping.
Reading this now, it provides insight into the plight and mistreatment of the Palestinian people by Israel since 1948. And now things are so much worse. 😔🍉

Another great read from the #WomensPrize longlist. A story of connection to family, work, homeland and navigating that in difficult circumstances.

Loved this long listed book for the Women's Prize for Fiction. An exploration of where one belongs along with a production of Hamlet. I need to sit with this novel for a while. Highly recommend. 4 🌟