Out of It by Selma Dabbagh

Out of It

Selma Dabbagh

27 year old Iman, sickened by the atrocities around her in Gaza, determines to take a more active role, whilst her twin brother Rashid has the chance of a scholarship in London and just wants out of it. I grappled with political nuances amidst the chaos and devastation, but the savvy, cosmopolitan young people kept me energised me throughout this fast-paced read with some nail-biting moments and unexpected family twists. Keep up if you can!

Extract
The man was wearing a rough green jacket with large pockets and toggles like those on a child's jacket, and was propped up, shoulder blades resting against the wall, as if this was New York or Paris and he had just come out for a smoke in a back street. He looked stuck on to the scene; everything close to the ground was sunken and sepia, but to Iman the jacket's green was somehow out there with the sky in this other world where trees were allowed to respond to light, a world where Mediterranean sunrises were allowed to just be.
Parallels
  • I Was Born Here, I Was Born There by Mourid Barghouti
  • The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Hisham Matar
  • Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa