The war, death and human atrocities continue in Gaza. A bombardment that began on October 7th, 2023 rages on with a constantly rising death toll for those in Gaza by continued bombs, hunger and lack of medical services. You can read about Palestine every day in the news, but you, like many of us, might also be longing to read more than the headlines, death tolls and latest human atrocities. You may be longing to finally scratch the surface of this vibrant and resilient people; to know their history; to follow in their footsteps of conflict but also life, love and family. Below is a list of books, non-fiction, fiction, poetry and more to spark you curiosity and I pray compassion for those living in Gaza and for the diaspora of Palestinians around the world.
Note: Many of these recommendations and explanations were provided by a dear friend I turn to who has read much more extensively in this field than myself. Those selections are delineated with an asterisk * at the beginning of the prose.
Earlier this year I read these two books at the same time and I HIGHLY recommend them as an excellent pairing to understanding both the historical and human framework for what has occurred and what is occurring in Palestine today.
“Salt Houses” is a novel following the lives of women in a family over the same 100 years that Khalidi’s non-fiction historical perspective covers.
Poetry is an absolute must when it comes to empathizing with the emotional toll of another human’s experience. Joudah’s […] is a beautiful piece of work that allows the reader a window into the Palestinian experience from a diasporic perspective.
*Other Palestinian poets to consider looking for and picking up:
- Muhammed El-Kurd
- Maya Abu Al-Hayyat
- Fadwa Tuqan
*Edward W. Said is a Palestinian cultural critic, professor, and a foundational thinker on decolonial theory. His works on the western conception of the Middle East, Palestine, and Islam is an academic entrance into learning about the context of this issue. Orientalism, The Question of Palestine, and Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World together provide a framework to consider the context of the broader Middle East, as well as Palestine specifically.
Graphic novels are an excellent accessible way into new and potentially challenging content. Joe Sacco’s “Palestine” is a non-fiction look at Palestine through the eyes of the author’s experience in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in December 1991 and January 1992.
Graphic novels provide context and human expression in a quick and consumable format for readers from all walks of life who are longing to know more quickly yet with deep empathy.
*Recommendation
*There is a wealth of current Palestinian authors who provide often intimate pictures of life under occupation, blockade, and war. Books that seek to connect people to the devastating loss of humanity for all in this 75 year old conflict.
*”History is told by the winners” is a cliched phrase that has truth at its heart. The story of the founding of the Israel state in 1948 was for decades driven by an Israeli narrative. New Historians are Israeli historians that in the 80s began to publish a more comprehensively researched story of Zionism and the roots of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Illan Pappé is one of the New Historians whose books, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine and The Biggest Prison on Earth, provide a more holistic story of the creation of Zionism and of the modern state of relations in Israel and Palestine.
These are obviously a place to start, not a comprehensive exploration of Palestinian literature and history.
May your reading be fruitful,
Hannah
