"Behind You Is the Sea fearlessly confronts stereotypes about Palestinian culture, weaving a remarkable portrait of life's intricate moments, from joyous weddings to heart-wrenching funerals, from shattered hearts to hidden truths—I wept and grew alongside this family. This is a story that challenges perceptions, offering a heartfelt glimpse into the interior lives of those who call this community home. A must read novel with unforgettable characters and an unwavering, fresh voice—I couldn't put it down until the very last page! Darraj delivers an instant, necessary, and authentic classic to the cannon of Arab-American literature."—Etaf Rum, author of Evil Eye and A Woman Is No Man
An exciting debut novel that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Baltimore—from young activists in conflict with their traditional parents to the poor who clean for the rich—lives which intersect across divides of class, generation, and religion.
Funny and touching, Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families—the Baladis, the Salamehs, and the Ammars—Palestinian immigrants who've all found a different welcome in America.
Their various fates and struggles cause their community dynamic to sizzle and sometimes explode: The wealthy Ammar family employs young Maysoon Baladi, whose own family struggles financially, to clean up after their spoiled teenagers. Meanwhile, Marcus Salameh confronts his father in an effort to protect his younger sister for "dishonoring" their name. Only a trip to Palestine, where Marcus experiences an unexpected and dramatic transformation, can bridge this seemingly unbridgeable divide between the two generations.
Behind You Is the Sea faces stereotypes about Palestinian culture head-on and, shifting perspectives to weave a complex social fabric replete with weddings, funerals, broken hearts, and devastating secrets.
"Behind You Is the Sea fearlessly confronts stereotypes about Palestinian culture, weaving a remarkable portrait of life's intricate moments, from joyous weddings to heart-wrenching funerals, from shattered hearts to hidden truths—I wept and grew alongside this family. This is a story that challenges perceptions, offering a heartfelt glimpse into the interior lives of those who call this community home. A must read novel with unforgettable characters and an unwavering, fresh voice—I couldn't put it down until the very last page! Darraj delivers an instant, necessary, and authentic classic to the cannon of Arab-American literature."—Etaf Rum, author of Evil Eye and A Woman Is No Man
An exciting debut novel that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Baltimore—from young activists in conflict with their traditional parents to the poor who clean for the rich—lives which intersect across divides of class, generation, and religion.
Funny and touching, Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families—the Baladis, the Salamehs, and the Ammars—Palestinian immigrants who've all found a different welcome in America.
Their various fates and struggles cause their community dynamic to sizzle and sometimes explode: The wealthy Ammar family employs young Maysoon Baladi, whose own family struggles financially, to clean up after their spoiled teenagers. Meanwhile, Marcus Salameh confronts his father in an effort to protect his younger sister for "dishonoring" their name. Only a trip to Palestine, where Marcus experiences an unexpected and dramatic transformation, can bridge this seemingly unbridgeable divide between the two generations.
Behind You Is the Sea faces stereotypes about Palestinian culture head-on and, shifting perspectives to weave a complex social fabric replete with weddings, funerals, broken hearts, and devastating secrets.
Reviews-
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January 8, 2024
This potent novel-in-stories from Muaddi Darraj (The Inheritance of Exile) follows a group of Palestinian Americans in Baltimore. In “Ride Along,” Marcus Salameh, a U.S. Marine, is trying to mediate a conflict between his father and his sister, who’s graduating from college with honors after coming out of a rough patch following an abortion. “Escorting the Body” finds Marcus returning to Palestine to bury his father and reflect on how his Baba’s American dream had turned sour because of his inability to be more compassionate to his family. The title story looks at the power dynamics between rich and poor immigrants, as a young woman named Maysoon Baladi takes a job as a cleaner for the Ammars, a wealthy fellow Palestinian family. In “Gyroscopes,” high school student Layla Marwan, a cousin of the Ammars, expresses concern about the negative representation of Arabs in her school’s production of Aladdin, but is ignored by her adviser. Throughout, Muaddi Darraj brilliantly depicts complex characters reckoning with the costs of holding tightly to their principles. This is a beautiful portrait of a family reaching for their dreams while holding onto their roots. Agent: Thomas Colchie, Colchie Agency. -
Ali Nasser and Rasha Zamamiri take turns narrating this novel-in-stories centered on the lives of Palestinian Americans in Baltimore. Nasser takes on the stories from the men's perspectives and Zamamiri from the women's. Both narrators voice characters of various ages, from teenagers to elders, with grace and ease. Zamamiri is especially good at her portrayal of teenage girls. Nasser perfectly captures the throaty grumblings and violent outbursts of older men in both English and Arabic. This is a quiet but poignant novel that delves into patriarchal violence, generational differences in immigrant communities, familial and cultural expectations, and the ways that both grief and deep love define relationships. L.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
