The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa

The Blue Between Sky and Water

Susan Abulhawa

This is a story of the Palestinian struggle told through several generations of a family. It was easy to empathise with the characters in Gaza, especially Nazmiyeh, a strong woman with a wicked tongue, but I struggled with the character of Nur, an abused Palestinian girl raised in the USA and whose story felt, to me, a little contrived. Nevertheless, I learned a lot from this moving and poetic novel.

Extract
‘Mamdouuuh. Mamdouuuh. Is that you my brother? Mamdouh?’ Those moments appeared on her face as an inconceivable smile and as they passed, the smile fell. The sky fell. Beit Daras fell. Nazmiyeh fell to her knees and slumped to the floor. She held her face in her hands. The telephone at her ear.
Parallels
  • Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
  • The Drum Tower by Farnoosh Moshiri