The prologue begins with a quotation – ”You have to be loyal to your exile as much as you are loyal to your homeland” – which aptly describes the central conflict of the protagonists of this debut, comprising three families belonging to the Palestinian immigrant community in Baltimore, US. Featuring a novel-in-stories structure, each chapter belongs to a different character depicted as a microcosm of the social identity issues affecting them.
One of the opening stories introduces Marcus Salameh, a city cop at odds with his father who disapproves of the American woman he is dating, as well as the black man his daughter is dating. In the next chapter, Walid Ammar is facing a similar conflict at the wedding of his son to a white woman. He contemplates how, after being in America for 30 years, “he knew the elusiveness of delicate white women… turned their young men into blushing, stammering fools”.
These stories bring out the faultlines – familial, ethnic and social – that threaten to disrupt the precarious relationships shared by the characters. Sameera is a high-powered lawyer whose family milks her for money while looking down on her for deciding not to have children. Layla is a high school student whose concerns about the offensive Arab stereotypes being depicted in the play Aladdin are disregarded by her school.
The final story, Escorting the Body, is the most heart-rending, and involves Marcus making a trip to Palestine to bury his father, as per his wishes. On his way, he is subjected to bullying by Israeli guards at Tel Aviv, a regular occurrence for Palestinians. He meets a woman there he eventually falls in love with, who has been taking care of his family home to keep Israeli settlers at bay. The settlers are gradually pushing people out to take over the village and form a settlement. As a child she was arrested “for throwing stones. For trying to get to school. For being Palestinian.” She was kept along with other girls in jail for eight months, where they were subjected to physical and sexual assault, and was released only after going on hunger strike. This story exposes harsh truths of existence under oppression.
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In light of the ongoing Gaza genocide, this eloquent novel serves as a poignant reminder of our shared humanity in these stories, brimming with hope and empathy.
