I admired the steady, poised storytelling, which illuminated brilliantly how difficult it is to make art in Palestine, and the remarkable qualities of the people who keep striving to do so anyway. It never sensationalises a precarious situation, and the Israeli soldiers remain discretely distant, like the ghost of Hamlet's father, while the analogies between Shakespeare's great play and the political situation in a land where something is very rotten indeed are fascinating. Reading it reminded me of the theatre groups I met in the West Bank when I lived there many years back, and the astonishing efforts they make to tell their stories.
**LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024**
Reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir finds love and hope in Shakespeare and Palestine.
'A vital storyteller' ALI SMITH
After years away from her family's homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. On her arrival, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.
When Sonia meets the charismatic Mariam, a local director, she joins a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing with a dedicated, if competitive, group…
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The bestselling Turkish classic of love and loss in a changing world, with a new introduction by David Selim Sayers
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Ever since it exploded into Vietnam's cultural life two centuries ago, The Song of Kieu has been one of that nation's most beloved and defining central myths. It recounts the tragic fate of the beautiful singer and poet Kieu,…
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