On the Pleasures of Living in Gaza: Remembering A Way of Life Now Destroyed

by Mohammed Omer Almoghayer

Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza has plunged more than two million Palestinians into a ceaseless cycle of violence and deprivation. Despite the outrage that aggression has fanned, two opposing tropes about those who inhabit the Strip endure. For the minority backing Israel’s actions, the Palestinians of Gaza are often seen as little more than terrorists. For many on the other side, they are perpetual victims, powerless and tragic. Each characterization dehumanizes Gaza’s people.

In this book, Mohammed Omer Almoghayer, born and raised in southern Gaza, presents a necessary corrective. What the news reports have rarely shown are the ways in which, prior to Israel’s onslaught, the people of Gaza rose above their hardship to enjoy the simple pleasures of human existence. While in no way diminishing the horrors hurled at the Strip since October 7, or the prior suffering of those forced to live in what was effectively an open prison, Omer Almoghayer here tells that story.

On the Pleasures of Living in Gaza takes the reader on a tour of a most misunderstood and hidden territory, allowing us to discover the community spirit, the enduring family ties, the festivals and pastimes, and the creativity and resourcefulness of people, who, in lives now tragically lost, refused to surrender to hopelessness, snatching moments of joy in the most difficult of circumstances. More than ever, it is vital that we recognize the humanity of people referred to by Israel’s defense minister as “animals,” and by news organizations around the world by as bald numbers of nameless dead. With the sensitivity and insight available to a native Gazan, Mohammed Omer’s magnificent book parts the smoke and dust to show us the richness of a way of life Israel has now destroyed.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Middle East

288 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2025

Reviews

[Zana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There was always a debate inside my head, tossing around the thought that the missile that hit my son could have been developed by colleagues I lived and worked with on a daily basis. I couldn't reconcile that thought," [Suleiman Baraka] says.

This quote by Palestinian astrophysicist and NASA scientist, Suleiman Baraka, is one of the most heartbreaking sentences that I have ever read.

This book is such a beautiful way to honor and remember Gaza's past, including the land and its people. Part memoir, part documentary, it's creative nonfiction at its best. It brings humanity to a community that has lived, and is still living, under occupation and genocide.

I really enjoyed the way that the author approached his book, using history, personal interviews with Gazans, and his own experiences to create a narrative that rings true and is respectful of the community. The book is easy to digest and it's accessible for anyone who's interested in learning about Gaza as it once was.

Thank you to OR Books and Edelweiss for this arc.

[Karl Eidsvik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vakker og brutal. "On the Pleasures..." høres kanskje paradoksalt ut, og boka legg aldri skjul på kor hardt live på Gaza e. Men den vil også få frem det som e fint, og de lyspunktan som dem opplev. Masse små utdrag og historia om fantastiske menneska som prøva å gjør noe for andre, eller bare lev livan sine. Mye håp til tross for all håpløsheten

[Benjamin Fajkovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Darling, always say alhamdulilah, for the bad news and for the good news,” Rayah tells her daughter. “What is meant to be is meant to be, okay, love?”
“Yes, Mama, Alhamdulilah,” Samaher replies.

[Momo · Rating 5 out of 5]

sobbing at 1am 😭

"The blue waters tell you none of that matters. At least they couldn't erase the sea. On the way to the damaged boats, flowers blooming atop a heap of sand and debris created by a bulldozer weeks ago will call out to the world: Do not despair, Gaza--we have always proven that cities are made by souls, not stones, and as long as we are alive, nothing is impossible. Gaza will return more beautiful than any time before, inshallah."

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almoghayer reminds us that Gaza was not always the place of nightmares and unbearable scenes that it’s become in the news. It’s first and foremost a home and part of a nation; it’s families making their way, artists painting, farmers working the land, fishermen making a living, fashion designers dreaming up clothes, children flying kites, and people following soccer. It’s theatres and universities and coffee shops and Gaza’s special food dishes and parkour and more. It’s community, and family—the threads that tie a people together.

Almoghayer tells us about Hassan, who owns a medical laboratory that specialises in fertility care; he’s a pillar of the community, and has held many marriages together. Adli and Mansour are best friends who share a motorcycle that they can operate together (and one pair of shoes when they buy): They have one leg each, one right, and one left. I could be a purely heartbreaking story, but it’s quite the opposite in Almoghayer’s telling—instead, it’s a story of resilience. One man lost his home in a bombing apart from a door that was left standing—a door that became extremely valuable when a Banksy appeared on it overnight. Unfortunately, Rabei hasn’t benefitted directly from it—because, people. Even in such circumstances, there’s always someone there to exploit. And Almoghayer tells us about Professor Baraka, who was an upcoming star at NASA, but who moved back to Gaza after his young son was killed by an Israeli missile. Now he shares his passion for astronomy with fellow Gazans.

Kamal and Hatem are friends and neighbours; Kamal, a Christian, takes Hatem to the mosque for prayers five times a day during Ramadan because Hatem is blind. Hatem goes with him to church on Sundays. Ibrahim is Al Zaytoun’s Baba Noel (Father Christmas). There’s Maher, the nineteen-year-old quail hunter, and also Ahmed and Mohammed, the passionate surfers. These are some of the stories of Gaza.

So many stories. So many pleasures. In all of these ways, Gaza was just a place like everywhere else where there are people. Maybe one day it will be restored, and truly be free to be.

Thank you to OR Books and Edelweiss for early DRC access.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eulogies are typically not a realistic portrait of the deceased, but are meant to capture something good about them. A remembrance of the goods and the beauty that were. After all, in a eulogy, hardly anyone would write, even if true, “he was a loving father and grandfather (most of the time), a mediocre gardener, and he had a gambling vice where he wasted all his money foolishly”.

This book was solidly a four-star experience for most of the read time. While I never doubted the author’s experiences and memories of his life and the people he met in Gaza, I initially felt more distant from the narrative than I expected. This disconnection was because the author extols Gaza to such an unrealistic degree that I began to feel like Gaza was an idyllic promised land full of the kindest, most hospitable, most hopeful people in the whole world. I don’t dispute that kind, hopeful, tough people live in Gaza; they do even today. It felt artificially inflated to a degree where everyone was maximally good and loving to everyone.

But upon reaching the end, where the author begins to reveal darker elements of Gaza with his recounting of his militant kidnapping and, of course, the recent and ongoing genocidal events, the juxtaposition was devastating. It was then that I realized that the first part of the book was more like a eulogy and the second part is so devastating in its wake because the disrespect and the cruelty lie in such stark contrast to the goodness. One of his themes is that goodness can hold against darkness but that even some of the good can be radicalized into tragedy by extenuating circumstances. Those conditions are in play in Gaza right now.

[Brendan B]

On the Pleasures of Living in Gaza bears witness to the vibrant customs and traditions - both new and old - of the Palestinian people, an ode to both their rich history and resilience in the face of oppression and violence. Its strength lies in its insistence that we view Palestinians as people with stories worth sharing, rather than as mere numbers or statistics flattened into passive news updates. The lives and stories shared by the author are heartwarming and will stick with me for a long time.

My one critique is that despite its laudable focus on the positive attributes of living in Gaza, the writing at times felt too saccharine for the current moment. With that said, the book's epilogue candidly and effectively speaks to the horrors that have unfolded before, during, and since 2023, and the author does make a point to intersperse relevant political developments within the book's chapters themselves.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this one - it serves as a positive companion to other books that contextualize and depict the unfolding genocide more extensively.

[Rasma Haidri]

There's a real danger that any criticism of this book is taken at best to be indifference and at worst to be criticism of Gaza and its people and culture. I'm only on chapter 3, but I find the book hard to read. The hyperbolic excessive use of grandiose superlative adjectives renders the narrative empty, cliche and so non-descriptive that Gaza comes across as one big Normal Rockwell painting. I was hoping to read about real people with all their complexities, not one-dimensional stereotypical saints. I find the book rather patronizing. I mean, of course the people of Gaza were and are real people, decent people with hopes and dreams and talents and generosity and courage. Did anyone think they were all jaded jihadister? But are they the most superior humans on earth? Almoghayer seems to want to make that claim. Methinks he doth protest too much. When a hint of real human dilemma comes up, like the fear in unwed pregnant teenagers, or the plight of women who are divorced because they can't conceive, or the dire social impact of striking union workers being replaced by hordes of willing and able scab workers, the Norman Rockwell veneer gets cracked, but not explored. Of course, the book does not promise to look at anything but the pleasures of living in Gaza. The problem is that until chapter 10 when I know the author will be abducted, every character he interacts with is a saintly hero. It's not just fiction that needs complex characters. Real life is full of them. It's a real challenge to deliver a happy story full of characters who are not always happy, but that is what the author needs to write. So far I couldn't say what the "way of life now destroyed" was. Unlike a good Norman Rockwell painting, this picture lacks the specific sensory details that would bring it to life.

[Savannah Gray]

May the world know this version of Gaza once more.


“Even though it sometimes feels like a dream, Gaza was and is a real place full of poets and musicians, athletes and pharmacists, doctors and lawyers, farmers and fashionistas, entrepreneurs and dancers…. Let us remember these names, faces, and places, even as so many are wiped off the map. When Gaza is rebuilt, it will be in their loving memory”

“If Palestinian kids aren’t safe and free, no kids are safe. We are all in this together — or we should be. And we can be. As we strive for a world where freedom, compassion, and justice reign, may this book serve as a rallying cry for humanity, in Gaza and beyond”

[Sophia Eck]

A deeply grounding book concerning the positive aspects of Gazan life, the small joys that become overshadowed and personally uncommunicable in the face of grander tragedy and in the grand scale of Gazas devastating and constant plea for peace. Even in inhumane circumstances, they manage to remember the treasurable little things, something a lot of people forget to remember, especially those of infinite privilege.

[Shannon Leung · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly beautiful tribute to the people of Gaza - to showcase their strength and resilience, and the heartfelt moments of everyday life in Palestine, despite the unimaginable circumstances they have had to endure.

[Layfad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and devastating, I don't know how else to describe it