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East Jerusalem Noir
In East Jerusalem Noir —published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir —the Akashic Noir Series turns its gaze to one of the world's most complicated locales, in this volume from the perspective of Palestinian writers; translated from Arabic From the editor's "When you move through the streets of Jerusalem today, you will notice that history surrounds you from all sides. You hear Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin from the Dome of the Rock; you hear the bells of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Christians pray, accompanied by the voices of the Jewish worshippers at the Wailing Wall. You are filled with awe and stand helpless to do anything except feel both joy and sadness at the same time. Your feelings mingle, your thoughts get confused, and you peer at the sky waiting for God's mercy and relief . . . The stories here are varied, and I did not interfere with the writers' content. I asked them to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they want it to be, and as they imagine it in the past, the present, and the future . . . And now we put the black box in your hands! Kindly open it to reveal the secrets of Jerusalem and its people, who wake up to the sound of a forgotten rooster from a previous era to declare the beginning of a new dawn, so that life will not stop recording its new diary entries." Featuring brand-new stories Nuzha Abu Ghosh, Ibrahim Jouhar, Osama Alaysa, Rahaf al-Sa'ad, Ziad Khadash, Mahmoud Shukair, Iyad Shamasnah, Rafiqa Othman, Dima al-Samman, Majid Abu Ghosh, Muhammad Shuraim, Jameel al-Salhout, and Nuzha al-Ramlawi. East Jerusalem Noir is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir, edited by Maayan Eitan. The companion volume explores the city with brand-new stories by Israeli authors.
- GenresFictionShort Stories
200 pages, Paperback
Published November 7, 2023
7 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Rawya Jarjoura Burbara
2 books2 followersRawya Jarjoura Barbara is a Palestinian editor and writer, born in Nazareth, and works as a focus inspector for the Arabic language in the Ministry of Education in Israel.
She was born in the city of Nazareth on November 27, 1969 to a Nasrawi family. She got married and moved to live with her family in the village of Abu Sinan in the western Galilee of the country.
She completed her secondary education at the Seminary of St. Joseph (Bishop) Seminary in Nazareth in 1987. In 1994 she completed her BA in Arabic Language and Education and Teaching Methods at Haifa University. In 2004 she received her MA with distinction from the Faculty of Arts, Department of Arabic Language, Haifa University. She obtained her PhD in Arabic literature in a thesis she prepared on “Fatimi Poetry between Worldly and Doctrinal Meanings” under the guidance of Professor George Kanazeh and Professor Ibrahim Jeries at Haifa University in 2011.
Rawya Jarjoura Barbara currently resides with her family in the village of Abu Sinan in the western Galilee of the country. She occupies the position of the Concentrating Inspector of the Arabic Language in the Israeli Ministry of Education. She holds the position of Concentrating Inspector of Arabic and International Literature, and also supervises the contents and curricula of Arabic literature for the post-primary stage at the Curriculum Planning and Development Center. She worked as a lecturer at Haifa University, and to this day she is a lecturer at Oranim College.
She worked as a lecturer for the Arabic language at the Western Galilee College, under a UNESCO project for teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, as a guide for Arabic in secondary schools in the Druze community, as a teacher of Arabic at the comprehensive secondary school in her village of Abu Sinan, and as a lecturer in teacher completion courses. She also worked as a counselor for the Arabic language for the primary and preparatory levels in the North District. She has participated in presenting scientific and literary papers in many conferences, and has many studies and literary and critical articles. Rawya Barbara is fluent in 6 languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English, German, Bulgarian and Old Syriac.
Barbara won the "Creativity" award for a short story in 2009 and the 2014 Personality of the Year award in the field of writing.
She was born in the city of Nazareth on November 27, 1969 to a Nasrawi family. She got married and moved to live with her family in the village of Abu Sinan in the western Galilee of the country.
She completed her secondary education at the Seminary of St. Joseph (Bishop) Seminary in Nazareth in 1987. In 1994 she completed her BA in Arabic Language and Education and Teaching Methods at Haifa University. In 2004 she received her MA with distinction from the Faculty of Arts, Department of Arabic Language, Haifa University. She obtained her PhD in Arabic literature in a thesis she prepared on “Fatimi Poetry between Worldly and Doctrinal Meanings” under the guidance of Professor George Kanazeh and Professor Ibrahim Jeries at Haifa University in 2011.
Rawya Jarjoura Barbara currently resides with her family in the village of Abu Sinan in the western Galilee of the country. She occupies the position of the Concentrating Inspector of the Arabic Language in the Israeli Ministry of Education. She holds the position of Concentrating Inspector of Arabic and International Literature, and also supervises the contents and curricula of Arabic literature for the post-primary stage at the Curriculum Planning and Development Center. She worked as a lecturer at Haifa University, and to this day she is a lecturer at Oranim College.
She worked as a lecturer for the Arabic language at the Western Galilee College, under a UNESCO project for teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, as a guide for Arabic in secondary schools in the Druze community, as a teacher of Arabic at the comprehensive secondary school in her village of Abu Sinan, and as a lecturer in teacher completion courses. She also worked as a counselor for the Arabic language for the primary and preparatory levels in the North District. She has participated in presenting scientific and literary papers in many conferences, and has many studies and literary and critical articles. Rawya Barbara is fluent in 6 languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English, German, Bulgarian and Old Syriac.
Barbara won the "Creativity" award for a short story in 2009 and the 2014 Personality of the Year award in the field of writing.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 10, 2024
In 2004, Akashic Books conceived the idea of noir books each taking place in cities around the world. Each chapter is written by a different, published author. Some are fiction and some are based on fact. They can take place in the past, present, or future. Each book opens with a map of the city, and the silhouette of a body in the location for each story.
I have read a few of the books on the series and have found they offer many facets of the particular city and the people in it.
EAST JERUSALEM NOIR is different. The stories focus on the present with a strong link to the past. They they are not mysteries but talk about every day life in East Jerusalem. They do not mention the relationship between the Jews and Jerusalem. Sadly, that focus is primarily negative interaction with Israel.
Several refer to trauma, such as having their house destroyed because it is too close to a security wall or difficulty going through checkpoints to get into Israel. In many of them, the characters are abused by the Israeli police or military. The trauma is understandable but the reasons for security walls or checkpoints are not mentioned. (After they were put up, attacks on civilians in Israel from the West Bank declined dramatically.)
Some authors rue the changes in East Jerusalem because of Israeli actions. They ignore the changes done between 1949 and 1967 when Jordan controlled the area after having evicted Jewish population from their ancestral homes and the destruction that followed. (The British census from October 1922 reveals 13,413 Arabs, 14,699 Christians, and 33,971 Jews living in Jerusalem.)
Since the end of World War II, there have been scores of millions of refugees worldwide. In 1947, 15 million refugees from Pakistan and India exchanged their home countries. More than 2 million of them died. The survivors looked to the future and developed productive lives. The refugees also included about 850,000 Jews, who were driven from Arab lands, including historic Palestine, where their families had lived for 3000 years. Most have been resettled within 15 years. Only the Palestinians pass on refugee status to generations who were not directly involved or who have become citizens of other countries.
Most of the stories, present slim descriptions of Jerusalem. Others, particularly “Mosques, Churches, Falafel, Mufaddara” by Jameel Al-Salhout, beautifully describe locations, histories, and emotions, often intertwined with the history of the city.
One character asks, “Why can’t we have periods of calm like other people of the world?” Part of that is answered in another story about the school for deaf children. It has both Arabs and Jewish students. Palestinian children performing a play. They were carrying Palestinian flags and making violent gestures as well as drawing pictures of children throwing stones, the Palestinian flag above the Dome of the Rock, a child standing in front of an Israeli tank, people carrying the body of a martyr.
There are a few lovely poems about Jerusalem, and what it means to the people. Some point out the name Jerusalem includes the word peace.
Some of the stories were very well-written and showed a lot of thought. Others were focus solely on the results of not being able to have a long-lasting two-state solution with each country recognizing the history and rights of the other. Continuing to live in the past will not solve it.
I received a review copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I have read a few of the books on the series and have found they offer many facets of the particular city and the people in it.
EAST JERUSALEM NOIR is different. The stories focus on the present with a strong link to the past. They they are not mysteries but talk about every day life in East Jerusalem. They do not mention the relationship between the Jews and Jerusalem. Sadly, that focus is primarily negative interaction with Israel.
Several refer to trauma, such as having their house destroyed because it is too close to a security wall or difficulty going through checkpoints to get into Israel. In many of them, the characters are abused by the Israeli police or military. The trauma is understandable but the reasons for security walls or checkpoints are not mentioned. (After they were put up, attacks on civilians in Israel from the West Bank declined dramatically.)
Some authors rue the changes in East Jerusalem because of Israeli actions. They ignore the changes done between 1949 and 1967 when Jordan controlled the area after having evicted Jewish population from their ancestral homes and the destruction that followed. (The British census from October 1922 reveals 13,413 Arabs, 14,699 Christians, and 33,971 Jews living in Jerusalem.)
Since the end of World War II, there have been scores of millions of refugees worldwide. In 1947, 15 million refugees from Pakistan and India exchanged their home countries. More than 2 million of them died. The survivors looked to the future and developed productive lives. The refugees also included about 850,000 Jews, who were driven from Arab lands, including historic Palestine, where their families had lived for 3000 years. Most have been resettled within 15 years. Only the Palestinians pass on refugee status to generations who were not directly involved or who have become citizens of other countries.
Most of the stories, present slim descriptions of Jerusalem. Others, particularly “Mosques, Churches, Falafel, Mufaddara” by Jameel Al-Salhout, beautifully describe locations, histories, and emotions, often intertwined with the history of the city.
One character asks, “Why can’t we have periods of calm like other people of the world?” Part of that is answered in another story about the school for deaf children. It has both Arabs and Jewish students. Palestinian children performing a play. They were carrying Palestinian flags and making violent gestures as well as drawing pictures of children throwing stones, the Palestinian flag above the Dome of the Rock, a child standing in front of an Israeli tank, people carrying the body of a martyr.
There are a few lovely poems about Jerusalem, and what it means to the people. Some point out the name Jerusalem includes the word peace.
Some of the stories were very well-written and showed a lot of thought. Others were focus solely on the results of not being able to have a long-lasting two-state solution with each country recognizing the history and rights of the other. Continuing to live in the past will not solve it.
I received a review copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
September 29, 2023
East Jerusalem Noir is the latest noir anthology title published by Akashic Books.
It is being simultaneously published with West Jerusalem Noir.
Each book offers new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Stories are written from the perspective of Palestinian writers, translated from
the Arabic.
East Jerusalem Noir is an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) from Akashic Books.
I like the organization/the format of this series of over 100 titles.
A very ‘dark’ cover. A map (always a favorite of mine) which pinpoints the neighborhoods, areas, locations of the stories. A complete Table of Contents. An Introduction which sets the tone of the stories to come and gives us some cultural references to the city, state, country or region.
An About the Contributors section which gives a short bio of the participating authors.
East Jerusalem Noir is edited by Rawya Jarjoura Burbara and translated by Dr. Nazih Kassis.
She writes in the Introduction …….
”The stories are varied, and I did not interfere with the writers’ content. I asked them to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they
want it to be.”
Stories include:
The Ceiling of the City by Nuzha Abu Ghosh and translated by Catherine Cobham
The Scorpion by Ibrahim Jouhar and translated by Sawad Hussain
Between the Two Jerusalems by Osama Alaysa and translated by Raphael Cormack
In an extraordinary city by Rahaf Al-Sa’ad and translated by Nancy Roberts
Fleeing from the Assyrian Soldiers by Ziadd Khadash and translated by Catherine Cobham
City of Love and Loss by Mahmoud Shukair and translated by Catherine Cobham
An Astronaut in Jerusalem by Iyad Shamasnah and translated by Roger Allen
Diary of a Jerusalem Teacher by Rafiqa Othman and translated by Roger Allen
The Sun Still Shines by Dima Al-Samman and translated by Max Weiss
This is Jerusalem by Majid Abu Ghosh and translated by Catherine obham
Noble Sanctuary by Muhammad Shuraim and translated by Marilyn Booth
Mosques, Churches, Falafel, Mujaddara by Jameel Al-Salhout and translated by Roger Allen
Checkpoints of Death by Nuzha Al-Ramlawi and translated by Catherine Cobham
I wish to thank Akashic Books for offering me this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
I wish to thank all the authors who, with their stories and references, led me to seek out
historical and cultural information about Palestine. You have led me out of ignorance in many ways.
There is a very emotional and ‘human’ sense of the cultural differences and difficulties when two totally different, opposite cultures and history try to ‘combine’ or even live side-by-side.
I learned that (after Herodotus) the term Palestine came to be used for the entire region which was formerly known as Canaan. It is part of the Fertile Crescent and human habitation there can be traced back to before 10,000 B.C.E.
East Jerusalem Noir has been an excellent Noir experience, an excellent reading experience and a very interesting learning experience as well. *****
It is being simultaneously published with West Jerusalem Noir.
Each book offers new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Stories are written from the perspective of Palestinian writers, translated from
the Arabic.
East Jerusalem Noir is an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) from Akashic Books.
I like the organization/the format of this series of over 100 titles.
A very ‘dark’ cover. A map (always a favorite of mine) which pinpoints the neighborhoods, areas, locations of the stories. A complete Table of Contents. An Introduction which sets the tone of the stories to come and gives us some cultural references to the city, state, country or region.
An About the Contributors section which gives a short bio of the participating authors.
East Jerusalem Noir is edited by Rawya Jarjoura Burbara and translated by Dr. Nazih Kassis.
She writes in the Introduction …….
”The stories are varied, and I did not interfere with the writers’ content. I asked them to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they
want it to be.”
Stories include:
The Ceiling of the City by Nuzha Abu Ghosh and translated by Catherine Cobham
The Scorpion by Ibrahim Jouhar and translated by Sawad Hussain
Between the Two Jerusalems by Osama Alaysa and translated by Raphael Cormack
In an extraordinary city by Rahaf Al-Sa’ad and translated by Nancy Roberts
Fleeing from the Assyrian Soldiers by Ziadd Khadash and translated by Catherine Cobham
City of Love and Loss by Mahmoud Shukair and translated by Catherine Cobham
An Astronaut in Jerusalem by Iyad Shamasnah and translated by Roger Allen
Diary of a Jerusalem Teacher by Rafiqa Othman and translated by Roger Allen
The Sun Still Shines by Dima Al-Samman and translated by Max Weiss
This is Jerusalem by Majid Abu Ghosh and translated by Catherine obham
Noble Sanctuary by Muhammad Shuraim and translated by Marilyn Booth
Mosques, Churches, Falafel, Mujaddara by Jameel Al-Salhout and translated by Roger Allen
Checkpoints of Death by Nuzha Al-Ramlawi and translated by Catherine Cobham
I wish to thank Akashic Books for offering me this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
I wish to thank all the authors who, with their stories and references, led me to seek out
historical and cultural information about Palestine. You have led me out of ignorance in many ways.
There is a very emotional and ‘human’ sense of the cultural differences and difficulties when two totally different, opposite cultures and history try to ‘combine’ or even live side-by-side.
I learned that (after Herodotus) the term Palestine came to be used for the entire region which was formerly known as Canaan. It is part of the Fertile Crescent and human habitation there can be traced back to before 10,000 B.C.E.
East Jerusalem Noir has been an excellent Noir experience, an excellent reading experience and a very interesting learning experience as well. *****
May 4, 2024
The Six Day War in 1967 brought the reunification of the city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital but the reality on the ground is different, with the city clearly divided into East and West. Israelis rarely venture into East Jerusalem, its neighborhoods as foreign as those of a different country.
Israeli readers may be uncomfortable with the short stories of East Jerusalem Noir (Akashic Books, November 2023), for they are tales of house demolitions, separation walls, checkpoints, and destroyed villages. But they are also tales of heavenly faiths that call out to residents to fill the emptiness of their lives with prayer.
The protagonist of the opening story, 'The Ceiling of the City' by Nuzha Abu Ghosh is stopped by soldiers at Damascus Gate and is taken to prison because he doesn't have his ID. In 'The Scorpion' by Ibrahim Jouhar, a bulldozer disrupts an ordinary Jerusalem day, causing a homeowner to cry out "O wasted life, O lost dreams." Nothing is crueler, perhaps, than seeing your dream house torn to pieces.
In the story 'Between The Two Jerusalems' by Osama Alaysa we meet a gentle refugee from the destroyed village of Lifta who, despite his Downs syndrome, establishes himself as an unofficial traffic officer. He wanders around Jerusalem's old walls. The many vehicles in the streets make him feel free. He steps forward to direct traffic only to be detained by the police as a suspected terrorist.
For the residents of East Jerusalem, ordinary days in an extraordinary existence include waiting for a court decision that will determine the fate of one's home. In the story 'In an Extraordinary City' by Rahaf Al-Sa'ad, Abu wonders if the hopes he'd planted in the hearts of his wife and children had been a mirage. Was it unfair to hope for something that couldn't possibly come true?
Possibly the most heart-rending story in the book is 'Noble Sanctuary' by Muhammad Shuraim. We meet 75-year-old Hajja Aisha who, having just arrived from Amman, hopes to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque before her impending heart surgery. There is traffic on the roads and long lines at the checkpoints. Security inspections and gathering soldiers. Is Hajja's heart strong enough to bear the erupting violence and make it to Friday prayers?
The collection's editor, Rawya Jarjoura Burbara, says she asked the writers "to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they want it to be, and as they imagine it in the past, the present, and the future." The result is 13 stories translated from Arabic, often painful to read and some with abrupt endings. The stories tell of the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of East Jerusalem residents, their lives vastly different from those living in the western half of the city.
East Jerusalem Noir of the Akashic Noir Series is published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir, a companion collection that reflects an image of the national, religious, and socioeconomic tension in the western half of the complicated city of Jerusalem.
Israeli readers may be uncomfortable with the short stories of East Jerusalem Noir (Akashic Books, November 2023), for they are tales of house demolitions, separation walls, checkpoints, and destroyed villages. But they are also tales of heavenly faiths that call out to residents to fill the emptiness of their lives with prayer.
The protagonist of the opening story, 'The Ceiling of the City' by Nuzha Abu Ghosh is stopped by soldiers at Damascus Gate and is taken to prison because he doesn't have his ID. In 'The Scorpion' by Ibrahim Jouhar, a bulldozer disrupts an ordinary Jerusalem day, causing a homeowner to cry out "O wasted life, O lost dreams." Nothing is crueler, perhaps, than seeing your dream house torn to pieces.
In the story 'Between The Two Jerusalems' by Osama Alaysa we meet a gentle refugee from the destroyed village of Lifta who, despite his Downs syndrome, establishes himself as an unofficial traffic officer. He wanders around Jerusalem's old walls. The many vehicles in the streets make him feel free. He steps forward to direct traffic only to be detained by the police as a suspected terrorist.
For the residents of East Jerusalem, ordinary days in an extraordinary existence include waiting for a court decision that will determine the fate of one's home. In the story 'In an Extraordinary City' by Rahaf Al-Sa'ad, Abu wonders if the hopes he'd planted in the hearts of his wife and children had been a mirage. Was it unfair to hope for something that couldn't possibly come true?
Possibly the most heart-rending story in the book is 'Noble Sanctuary' by Muhammad Shuraim. We meet 75-year-old Hajja Aisha who, having just arrived from Amman, hopes to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque before her impending heart surgery. There is traffic on the roads and long lines at the checkpoints. Security inspections and gathering soldiers. Is Hajja's heart strong enough to bear the erupting violence and make it to Friday prayers?
The collection's editor, Rawya Jarjoura Burbara, says she asked the writers "to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they want it to be, and as they imagine it in the past, the present, and the future." The result is 13 stories translated from Arabic, often painful to read and some with abrupt endings. The stories tell of the unfulfilled hopes and dreams of East Jerusalem residents, their lives vastly different from those living in the western half of the city.
East Jerusalem Noir of the Akashic Noir Series is published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir, a companion collection that reflects an image of the national, religious, and socioeconomic tension in the western half of the complicated city of Jerusalem.
September 22, 2025
East Jerusalem Noir (2023) by Akashic Books. This is one of two books by Akashic Books depicting life in the near last and modern day Jerusalem, the other being tales of the western portion of the city, Ergo, this book is Jerusalem from the mostly Palestinian writers and each tale carries the weight of their struggles. The resulting baker’s dozen tales are full of turmoil, faith, conflict, pride and fear. There is hardly a noir motif to be found in the weight of the stories. It is as if the editor decided just just being a human in these conditions is more than enough noir (darkness literally and spiritually) for anyone to bear.
The result is 13 stories translated from Arabic. They are mostly hard to read and offer a vision of the city most tourists never see. You can feel the desire and disappointment that is prevalent in the population and, hence, in these tales. But there is also faith to be found on every page, the belief in something beyond the barricades, searches, prisons and need, something more than perhaps faith itself. There is a strange kind of longing I felt emanating from every story, but I didn’t discover much happiness.
Perhaps that is what makes these eases into noir after all.
The result is 13 stories translated from Arabic. They are mostly hard to read and offer a vision of the city most tourists never see. You can feel the desire and disappointment that is prevalent in the population and, hence, in these tales. But there is also faith to be found on every page, the belief in something beyond the barricades, searches, prisons and need, something more than perhaps faith itself. There is a strange kind of longing I felt emanating from every story, but I didn’t discover much happiness.
Perhaps that is what makes these eases into noir after all.
December 24, 2023
“The City of Jerusalem is a never-ending source of discovery, inspiration, and complexity. Through 13 short stories edited by Rawya Jarjoura Burbara, East Jerusalem Noir captures all these dynamics and more. Offering a stellar lineup of Palestinian writers coupled with world-class translations from Arabic, this fiction volume realistically offers the reader glimpses of Jerusalem from the perspective of its Palestinian residents. It surveys many angles of Jerusalem that never make the news but are of the essence to understanding Jerusalem. Living in Palestine, I related to many of the stories, down to the story’s characters. Jerusalem will always be the centerpiece of Palestine, and these moving stories reveal why.” ~Sam Bahour
December 6, 2023
Some stories were better than others imo, the range varies greatly in terms of quality, themes and characters. However, it was a good fast read and I think the variety of short stories creating a kind of intimate introspection into the different human experiences of oppression across time in Palestine is a stark reminder that Israel’s abhorrent injustices have been occurring for a long time and have not been few. I also think that although the writing at times isn’t great, it’s a good book to pick up, especially if you lack the time or whatever to read because the short stories really are fast to read!
August 24, 2025
The stories are good, and give supportive accounts of the Palestinian side of the story and how lives are affected. The problem is, the book completely ignores the other side of the story. Nowhere are the accounts of the Jewish people and their suffering in this conflict. Nowhere is any responsibility of Hamas and other groups who perpetuate conflict and violence. This is nothing but pro-Palestinian propaganda and anti Jewish sentiment.
The issues in Israel, especially the West Bank, are many and complicated. Nobody is guiltless and everybody suffers. The struggles, fear, uncertainty, and loss of life are experienced by all sides. This is an unbalanced view of the situation.
The issues in Israel, especially the West Bank, are many and complicated. Nobody is guiltless and everybody suffers. The struggles, fear, uncertainty, and loss of life are experienced by all sides. This is an unbalanced view of the situation.
December 12, 2023
The fighting between Gazans and Israels as seen by Palestinian writers. A different view then that offered by U.S. news outlets. Yes, the Palestinians are anxious to present their people as peaceful people abused by the Israel government, laws, and the police and military. I believe this view, a little over the top, sometimes, in these stories. But also, a real presentation of the suffering endured by a people
displaced from their long held homes and country. The people in these stories want to live in peace in what they see as their homeland. Why not?
displaced from their long held homes and country. The people in these stories want to live in peace in what they see as their homeland. Why not?
September 23, 2024
This is a very difficult book to review, since all of the stories are saturated with the sad politics of the region. Trying to review without reference to the politics leaves little to discuss. Many of the stories do not fit the "classic noir" mold, they are instead simply (well told) tales of the daily struggles of the people in East Jerusalem. However, the final story "Checkpoints of Death" by Nuzha Al-Ramlawi is an excellent short story with a very "noir" twist at the end.
[Note: A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.]
[Note: A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.]
March 30, 2025
The collection of these stories portrays the everyday realities of the life under occupation and apartheid in East Jerulasem and West Bank - maneuvering many checkpoints, waiting in long, slow-moving queues, being refugees in their own lands, being rejected health insurance, worrying about losing your house to bulldozers, your teaching job because of Free Palestine pictures by your pupils, or your sons just because they are young Arab men.
There were also glimpses into traditional Palestinian culture - very strict rules about dating and marriage, hair tents, cuisine.
There were also glimpses into traditional Palestinian culture - very strict rules about dating and marriage, hair tents, cuisine.
April 14, 2025
Every series has its book that doesn't live up to the rest. For the Akashic Noir series, this is it.
This book isn't crime stories; it's just propaganda dressed up as a story. Not one story didn't make libelous attacks on Israelis. Even Belfast Noir was more balanced in dealing with the troubles.
In short, only read this book if you absolutely, positively need to read every book in the Akashic Noir series. Otherwise, give it a pass.
This book isn't crime stories; it's just propaganda dressed up as a story. Not one story didn't make libelous attacks on Israelis. Even Belfast Noir was more balanced in dealing with the troubles.
In short, only read this book if you absolutely, positively need to read every book in the Akashic Noir series. Otherwise, give it a pass.
November 1, 2023
Heart wrenching short stories of Palestinians in East Palestine by Palestinian authors. Mostly their psyches, and how they are dealing with Israeli Occupation and obstacles put in their way. The subjects range from a young boy, through lovers, an old woman and others of all ages, even a foreign woman photographer.
October 28, 2024
This book brought life and colour to places in occupied Palestine that I’ve heard of before but could never picture. At many points it felt like reading poetry. Even though the stories are by different authors, they come together in this collection like they are all pieces of a bigger story.
January 15, 2025
good/harrowing reminder of the daily violence of occupation. favorite stories were the first one about checkpoints, the love story, the one about the english woman, and the last one about the border wall
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October 31, 2024No stars DNF
I read like 5 or 6 stories and had to stop. Couldn't finish it. Stories were boring.
For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/vUaaq88wf4k
Enjoy!
I read like 5 or 6 stories and had to stop. Couldn't finish it. Stories were boring.
For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:
https://youtu.be/vUaaq88wf4k
Enjoy!
December 29, 2024
The range in quality of the short stories averaged on the low side unfortunately.
March 11, 2025
Heartbreaking vignettes of life, love and suffering under occupation.
March 23, 2024
Interesting short stories. You will read and experience just about every emotion known to man. I laughed waay too hard at one of the father’s responses. I won’t spoil it but since I am married into a different culture than my own I‘ve heard many things lost in translation or out of context.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews