Isabella Hammad

‘A sublime reading experience: delicate, restrained, surpassingly intelligent, uncommonly poised and truly beautiful’ Zadie Smith Midhat Kamal – dreamer, romantic, aesthete – leaves Palestine in 1914 to study medicine in France, under the tutelage of Dr Molineu. He falls deeply in love with Jeannette, the doctor's daughter. But Midhat soon discovers that everything is fragile: love turns to loss, friends become enemies and everyone is looking for a place to belong. Through Midhat's eyes we see the tangled politics and personal tragedies of a turbulent era – the Palestinian struggle for independence, the strife of the early twentieth century, and the looming shadow of the Second World War. Lush and immersive, and devastating in its power, The Parisian is an elegant, richly-imagined debut from a dazzling new voice in fiction.

The Parisian

A bold, evocative new novel from the Sue Kaufman, Betty Trask and Plimpton Prize Award winner Isabella Hammad that follows actress Sonia as she returns to Palestine and takes a role in a West Bank production of Hamlet After years away from her family's homeland, and healing from an affair with an established director, stage actress Sonia Nasir returns to Palestine to visit her older sister Haneen. Though the siblings grew up spending summers at their family home in Haifa, Sonia hasn't been since the second intifada and the deaths of her grandparents. While Haneen stayed and made a life commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia remained in London to focus on her burgeoning acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new. Once at Haneen's, Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing Gertude's lines in Classical Arabic and spending more time in Ramallah than in Haifa with a dedicated group of men from all over historic Palestine who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, each want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer it becomes clear just how many invasive and violent obstacles stand before a troupe of Palestinian actors. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home. A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance. Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad's highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite feat, an unforgettable story of artistry under occupation.

Enter Ghost

“Extraordinary and amazingly erudite. Hammad shows how art and especially literature can be much, much more revealing than political writing.” — Rashid Khalidi, New York Times bestselling author of The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine

From the award-winning author of The Parisian and Enter Ghost comes an outstanding essay on the Palestinian struggle and the power of narrative

Isabella Hammad delivered the Edward W. Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University nine days before October 7th, 2023. The text of Hammad’s seminal speech and her afterword, written in the early weeks of 2024, together make up a searing appraisal of the war on Palestine during what seems a turning point in the narrative of human history. Profound and moving, Hammad writes from within the moment, shedding light on the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Recognizing the Stranger is a brilliant melding of literary and cultural analysis by one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and a foremost writer of fiction in the world today.

On Palestine and Narrative

Recognizing the Stranger

“Isabella Hammad is a master of subtle nuance.” — New York Times 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. This is her first trip back since the second intifada and the deaths of their grandparents: while Haneen made a life here commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia remained in London to focus on her acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new. At Haneen’s, Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Sonia is soon rehearsing Gertude’s lines in Classical Arabic and spending more time in Ramallah than Haifa, along with a dedicated group of men from all over historic Palestine who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, each want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer it becomes clear just how many violent obstacles stand before a troupe of Palestinian actors. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home. A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance. Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad’s highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite feat, an unforgettable story of artistry under occupation.

Maurizia Balmelli

Dopo anni di lontananza dalla terra della sua famiglia, con un divorzio alle spalle e una relazione tossica in corso, delusa dalle prospettive di carriera che le offrono il teatro e la televisione in Inghilterra, Sonia Nasir vola a Haifa per far visita alla sorella maggiore Haneen. Nate entrambe a Londra da genitori palestinesi, Haneen si è costruita una vita in Israele insegnando all’Università di Tel Aviv, mentre Sonia è sempre rimasta nella capitale inglese per concentrarsi sul suo lavoro di attrice. Appena arrivata, Sonia conosce Mariam, una carismatica regista locale, e – sia pur malvolentieri – si unisce alla sua compagnia, che interpreterà l’Amleto in Cisgiordania. Ben presto, la donna si ritrova a provare le battute di Gertrude e Ofelia con un collettivo pressoché amatoriale, tutto al maschile, ma anche a riflettere sulla difficoltà e l’importanza di portare Shakespeare “al di là del muro”, sperimentando sulla propria pelle le conseguenze dell’occupazione israeliana. Le estati della sua infanzia a Haifa, passate in spiaggia a leggere e a mangiare frutta troppo matura, sono un ricordo sbiadito. Ma tra le macerie, attraverso l’impegno condiviso per combattere la barbarie, Sonia scopre l’opportunità di trovare una nuova sé nella casa ancestrale dei propri avi. Un romanzo toccante, lucido e tragicamente attuale, che indaga sulla forza dei legami, dell’identità e dell’arte, restituendo un ritratto inedito della vita quotidiana in Palestina.

Entra il fantasma

A masterful debut novel by Plimpton Prize winner Isabella Hammad, The Parisian illuminates a pivotal period of Palestinian history through the journey and romances of one young man, from his studies in France during World War I to his return to Palestine at the dawn of its battle for independence. Midhat Kamal is the son of a wealthy textile merchant from Nablus, a town in Ottoman Palestine. A dreamer, a romantic, an aesthete, in 1914 he leaves to study medicine in France, and falls in love. When Midhat returns to Nablus to find it under British rule, and the entire region erupting with nationalist fervor, he must find a way to cope with his conflicting loyalties and the expectations of his community. The story of Midhat’s life develops alongside the idea of a nation, as he and those close to him confront what it means to strive for independence in a world that seems on the verge of falling apart. Against a landscape of political change that continues to define the Middle East, The Parisian explores questions of power and identity, enduring love, and the uncanny ability of the past to disrupt the present. Lush and immersive, and devastating in its power, The Parisian is an elegant, richly-imagined debut from a dazzling new voice in fiction.

Het gefictionaliseerde leven van de charismatische Palestijnse Midhat Kamal, overgrootvader van de auteur, tegen het decor van het einde van het Ottomaanse Rijk en het opkomend Syrisch en Palestijns nationalisme.

De Parijzenaar, of Al-Barisi

Der Fremde aus Paris

Parisaren är en sublim läsupplevelse: utsökt, behärskad, makalöst intelligent, ovanligt samlad och uppriktigt vacker. Zadie Smith Parisaren är berättelsen om en ung palestiniers upptäckt av ett Europa som inte längre existerar. Midhat är en ung man från Nablus i Palestina. Det är i början av 1900-talet och han skickas till Montpellier, Frankrike, för att läsa medicin och upplever genast kulturkrockar och politiska oroligheter. I Montpellier blir Midhat förälskad i en ung kvinna, men när han får reda på en förödande hemlighet lämnar han henne och staden och reser till Paris. Vi får även följa Midhat tillbaka till Palestina som just då står under brittiskt mandat där han försöker bygga upp ett nytt liv och glömma sitt livs stora kärlek Jeanette. Parisaren är en medryckande episk roman om kärlek, politik, klass, krig och identitet och Midhat är en underbar vän att vandra genom boksidorna med. Parisaren blåser liv i en avgörande period i Palestinas historia genom en ung mans resor och romanser, från studierna i Frankrike under första världskriget till återkomsten till Palestina, i startskottet för landets kamp för självständighet.

Parisaren

Ενώ ο Πρώτος Παγκόσμιος Πόλεμος διαλύει οικογένειες, καταστρέφει φιλίες και σκοτώνει εραστές, ένας νεαρός Παλαιστίνιος ονειροπόλος προσπαθεί να ανακαλύψει τον εαυτό του. Ο Μιντχάτ Καμάλ κινείται σε έναν θρυμματισμένο κόσμο, από τις πολιτικές εξελίξεις στη Μέση Ανατολή στα σαλόνια του Μονπελιέ και ενός τρικυμιώδους Παρισιού. Διαπιστώνει πως όλα είναι εύθραυστα: ο έρωτας γίνεται απώλεια, οι φίλοι εχθροί και όλοι ψάχνουν κάπου να ανήκουν. Μια βαθιά ανθρώπινη ιστορία εν μέσω μιας παγκόσμιας σύρραξης· ένα ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα με εξαιρετικά σύγχρονη φωνή. ΕΓΡΑΨΑΝ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΒΙΒΛΙΟ Τεκμηριωμένο και σαγηνευτικό… Η ακριβής ανάκληση του τόπου και των χαρακτήρων εξασφαλίζει ότι ο αναγνώστης δεν θα χαθεί ποτέ… Η δεξιοτέχνισσα συγγραφέας τον τοποθετεί σταθερά στον χώρο, κρατώντας έτσι αμείωτη την προσοχή του στις ζωές που διασταυρώνονται. Wall Street Journal Υπέροχο… Η συγγραφέας ελέγχει το θέμα της με μεγάλη κομψότητα… Ο Παριζιάνος γράφει ιστορία και οι πρωταγωνιστές του ζουν ακόμα μια φορά. Boston Globe

Ο Παριζιάνος

« Il Parigino è un romanzo storico coinvolgente, una storia d'amore intensa e una saga familiare eccezionale. Ma, soprattutto, è un dono generoso. Esiste una gioia che non è puro piacere, ma anche lotta e malinconia. In questo libro si racconta di quella gioia, ed è la stessa che prova il lettore». Jonathan Safran Foer

Isabella Hammad

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