Against the Loveless World

'A thrilling, defiant novel' FATIMA BHUTTO'A masterpiece' MARC LAMONT HILL'Wonderful ... Shines a ray of hope into some very dark places' MICHAEL PALIN'A fearless work of imagination' AHDAF SOUEIFWinner of the Palestine Book AwardNahr has been confined to the Cube: nine square metres of glossy grey cinderblock, devoid of time, its patterns of light and dark nothing to do with day and night. Journalists visit her, but get nowhere; because Nahr is not going to share her story with them. The world outside calls Nahr a terrorist, and a whore; some might call her a revolutionary, or a hero. But the truth is, Nahr has always been many things, and had many names. She was a girl who learned, early and painfully, that when you are a second class citizen love is a kind of desperation; she learned, above all else, to survive. She was a girl who went to Palestine in the wrong shoes, and without looking for it found what she had always lacked in the basement of a battered beauty parlour: purpose, politics, friends. She found a dark-eyed man called Bilal, who taught her to resist; who tried to save her when it was already too late. Nahr sits in the Cube, and tells her story to Bilal. Bilal, who isn’t there; Bilal, who may not even be alive, but who is her only reason to get out.

A thrilling, defiant novel ... Reads as a riot act against oppression, misogyny, and shame, Abulhawa’s novel is a love story ... She elegantly crafts a world where the tension between desire and survival is laid bare, A powerful and subversive story of trauma and survival for fans of My Sister, The Serial Killer and Her Body and Other Parties, Susan Abulhawa has reached greater heights with her new and courageous novel. Wide in its scope and breadth it is a lively, exciting book that is difficult to put down. The work of a seasoned, accomplished writer, this is a bold and dazzling work which is sure to arouse controversy, Nahr is a wonderful creation, strong-willed, passionate, unapologetic and adventurous. Her refusal to accept the subordination expected of her propels the story at a thrilling pace. Her determination to find love in a loveless world and her unquenchable spirit in adversity shines a ray of hope into some very dark places

Susan Abulhawa was born to refugees of the Six Day War of 1967, when her family’s land was seized and Israel captured what remained of Palestine, including Jerusalem. She moved to the USA as a teenager, graduated in biomedical science and established a career in medical science. In July 2001, she founded Playgrounds for Palestine, a children’s organisation dedicated to upholding The Right to Play for Palestinian children. She is the author of two novels, Mornings in Jenin, which was an international bestseller, and The Blue Between Sky and Water, and a book of poems. She lives in Pennsylvania with her daughter. @sjabulhawa