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Cactus Pear For My Beloved: A Family Story from Gaza
Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands.
Filled with love for land, history, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six), born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother, a believer in peaceful resistance, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine, before being forced, with his own young family in tow, to flee and start a new life in Australia.
One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi's Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic.
Filled with love for land, history, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six), born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother, a believer in peaceful resistance, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine, before being forced, with his own young family in tow, to flee and start a new life in Australia.
One of the gifts of Samah Sabawi's Baba is to remain open-hearted and optimistic.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 17, 2024
76 people are currently reading
1455 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
April 18, 2025
In Cactus Pear for My Beloved, Samah Sabawi tells the story of her father—and through him, a story of exile, resistance, and enduring love. This isn’t just a memoir; it’s a tribute to family, to homeland, to the unshakable belief that even in displacement, one can build a life of meaning and beauty.
Sabawi’s writing is lyrical and full of quiet strength. Her father, born into exile, raised by a disabled father and an illiterate mother, grows into a poet and a believer in peaceful resistance. His life, marked by forced migrations and political upheaval, is told not with bitterness, but with open-heartedness and astonishing grace. This is a man who chooses hope, again and again—and Sabawi honors him with prose that is at once deeply intimate and politically resonant.
There’s something especially moving in how Sabawi captures the everyday love that carries a family through unimaginable challenges. The title itself—Cactus Pear for My Beloved—evokes something sweet, thorned, and enduring, which is exactly the spirit of this book.
It’s a memoir, yes, but also a poetic witness to history. A reminder that resistance can look like storytelling, like fatherhood, like staying soft in a hard world. A must-read for anyone drawn to family stories, diaspora narratives, or just beautiful writing rooted in truth.
Let this one linger. It deserves to.
Sabawi’s writing is lyrical and full of quiet strength. Her father, born into exile, raised by a disabled father and an illiterate mother, grows into a poet and a believer in peaceful resistance. His life, marked by forced migrations and political upheaval, is told not with bitterness, but with open-heartedness and astonishing grace. This is a man who chooses hope, again and again—and Sabawi honors him with prose that is at once deeply intimate and politically resonant.
There’s something especially moving in how Sabawi captures the everyday love that carries a family through unimaginable challenges. The title itself—Cactus Pear for My Beloved—evokes something sweet, thorned, and enduring, which is exactly the spirit of this book.
It’s a memoir, yes, but also a poetic witness to history. A reminder that resistance can look like storytelling, like fatherhood, like staying soft in a hard world. A must-read for anyone drawn to family stories, diaspora narratives, or just beautiful writing rooted in truth.
Let this one linger. It deserves to.
June 15, 2025
*** Longlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize ***
”Authoritarian powers can only exist through people’s blind obedience. So, they hand us prepackaged religious beliefs and make us so busy performing the shallow rituals that we forget to think for ourselves, and how to ask questions.”
As she says in her “Author’s Note” ”There are at least two stories warring here: the story that I wanted to write, and the story my father wanted to tell: the personal story of a family, and the collective story of a nation.”
Samah Sabawi beautifully tells the story of her father whilst also telling the story of his homeland, which historically has been filled with many wars and too much loss. But more importantly, this is also about love. It’s obvious on the pages that despite so much hardship and being born into a poor family, love is the glue that keeps them together.
Samah’s “Baba" Karim is the eldest son of an invalid father who is unable to walk and a mother who is unable to read. The family live together in one large room, with a small garden with some vegetables and chickens, and a pomegranate tree that Karim sits under with his sweetheart that lives next door.
At night Karim’s father the sheikh runs a home school for boys. It’s also a place where men of all ages gather to exchange ideas and listen to news broadcasts on the radio. Karim has a natural intellectual curiosity and grows up to become a well known poet and to also work on one of the first Palestinian newspapers.
Whilst the backdrop of war and civil unrest features throughout the story, there are so many moments where the streets of the small town he lives in are brought to life. The smell of cooking, the sharing of meals, friendships, community. White sand on the beach. The noise and bustle of the marketplace. A normal life that all too easily is turned upside down due to political events.
This had me thinking of what a wonder it is for someone to bring the stories of their relatives from earlier years to life. How their stories impact our story. Even if it's simply the generation previous to ours, there is so much we can learn and probably do not know or realise.
The book ends with her parents' exile from Palestine to Australia in 1967. And while she has her reasons for not extending the story further, I’d dearly love for there to be a followup one day. To hear of their migrant experience would be so interesting and worthwhile. I hope one day to be surprised to see it sitting on a shelf in a bookstore.
“Sweet cactus pears are in season, and tonight I will personally peel them with my own hands the sweetest cactus pears for my beloved.”
Whenever I see this fruit at the greengrocer, I’ll now be reminded of this book.
”Authoritarian powers can only exist through people’s blind obedience. So, they hand us prepackaged religious beliefs and make us so busy performing the shallow rituals that we forget to think for ourselves, and how to ask questions.”
As she says in her “Author’s Note” ”There are at least two stories warring here: the story that I wanted to write, and the story my father wanted to tell: the personal story of a family, and the collective story of a nation.”
Samah Sabawi beautifully tells the story of her father whilst also telling the story of his homeland, which historically has been filled with many wars and too much loss. But more importantly, this is also about love. It’s obvious on the pages that despite so much hardship and being born into a poor family, love is the glue that keeps them together.
Samah’s “Baba" Karim is the eldest son of an invalid father who is unable to walk and a mother who is unable to read. The family live together in one large room, with a small garden with some vegetables and chickens, and a pomegranate tree that Karim sits under with his sweetheart that lives next door.
At night Karim’s father the sheikh runs a home school for boys. It’s also a place where men of all ages gather to exchange ideas and listen to news broadcasts on the radio. Karim has a natural intellectual curiosity and grows up to become a well known poet and to also work on one of the first Palestinian newspapers.
Whilst the backdrop of war and civil unrest features throughout the story, there are so many moments where the streets of the small town he lives in are brought to life. The smell of cooking, the sharing of meals, friendships, community. White sand on the beach. The noise and bustle of the marketplace. A normal life that all too easily is turned upside down due to political events.
This had me thinking of what a wonder it is for someone to bring the stories of their relatives from earlier years to life. How their stories impact our story. Even if it's simply the generation previous to ours, there is so much we can learn and probably do not know or realise.
The book ends with her parents' exile from Palestine to Australia in 1967. And while she has her reasons for not extending the story further, I’d dearly love for there to be a followup one day. To hear of their migrant experience would be so interesting and worthwhile. I hope one day to be surprised to see it sitting on a shelf in a bookstore.
“Sweet cactus pears are in season, and tonight I will personally peel them with my own hands the sweetest cactus pears for my beloved.”
Whenever I see this fruit at the greengrocer, I’ll now be reminded of this book.
”The Bulldozers were here
The Bulldozers were here
And the houses in our city
Were devoured by monstrous teeth.
They haven’t colonised Mars yet
And the moon is barren
Uninhabitable
So carry your children
Your memories
And follow me
We can live in the books of history”
November 8, 2024
The author tells the story of her father from his birth till his exile from Palestine. It’s full of love, family, belonging, history, connection to land, survival and resistance. I found it a beautiful and powerful read.
October 14, 2024
It says there are no other reviews, which seems unbelievable, but it is what it says.
A beautifully written story of a family and a country. Do not fear the darkness of the subject, there is light enough in the stories and characters. For me, this was not a story of hope or resistance or revenge, but just a story of what happened.
A beautifully written story of a family and a country. Do not fear the darkness of the subject, there is light enough in the stories and characters. For me, this was not a story of hope or resistance or revenge, but just a story of what happened.
July 1, 2025
4.5 stars, rounded up. Beautifully written and such an interesting, moving account of Sabawi's family history in Palestine, although a tad slow in the middle. The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by the author, making the novel all the more touching. Highly recommended!
December 22, 2024
I have been privileged enough to hear Samah Sabawi speak on several occasions and to read this book in her voice is a wonder. This book tells the story of her family, of Gaza and of Palestine. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and so well written. The multiple generations and what they have endured is laid out for you.
I think everyone should read this book to connect with the personal stories that have come from this occupation and genocide.
Free free Palestine 🇵🇸
I think everyone should read this book to connect with the personal stories that have come from this occupation and genocide.
Free free Palestine 🇵🇸
June 5, 2025
Went to a talk by the author and she was amazing so I knew the book would be the same. Very very worthwhile read
September 20, 2024
A story about the author's family of how they lived their life struggled and survived when their homeland was taken over. That day in Palestine,
the wealthy, the poor, the educated, the illiterate, all of them became a nation of refugees. Their homes were handed over to Jewish immigrants from Europe.
I love the scene of Karim, Sheikh's oldest son, when he was invited and joined to the Easter celebration with his Christian friends. How great it would be if everyone could just live together in peace.
When i picked this book, I thought this memoir/book will cover their journey from Gaza to Australia, but unfortunately, it is not.
This book will remind you never to stop learning, to always love one another, and always to be optimistic like the author's grandfather in this book.
It's actually heartbreaking reading this book, as we know a lot of those places mentioned in this book are now flatten and no longer exist.
the wealthy, the poor, the educated, the illiterate, all of them became a nation of refugees. Their homes were handed over to Jewish immigrants from Europe.
I love the scene of Karim, Sheikh's oldest son, when he was invited and joined to the Easter celebration with his Christian friends. How great it would be if everyone could just live together in peace.
When i picked this book, I thought this memoir/book will cover their journey from Gaza to Australia, but unfortunately, it is not.
This book will remind you never to stop learning, to always love one another, and always to be optimistic like the author's grandfather in this book.
It's actually heartbreaking reading this book, as we know a lot of those places mentioned in this book are now flatten and no longer exist.
December 18, 2024
all the stars in the world.
February 24, 2025
A reasonably well-written, slightly fictionalised retelling of a family story from Gaza, spanning 100 years and countless atrocities. This book radicalised me.
October 21, 2025
4 / Cactus Pear for My Beloved is a poetic, bittersweet and beautiful tribute to Samah’s father’s life; “a rugged terrain of countless tear tracks and glorious laugh lines” when she sees him, she sees all of him.
The dedication reads:
For our children
These are your stories - born of truth, sprinkled with wonder, aged with time
The Author’s Note mentions: “There are at least two stories warring here: the story that I wanted to write, and the story my father wanted to tell; the personal story of a family and the collective story of a nation.”
With this in mind, Samah weaves a seamless tale, a rich tapestry of real life events in her family’s history, along with a few threads of fiction.
Deserving of the shortlist for the Stella Prize. I feel I have been sprinkled with a bit of Samah’s wonder having read it. Thank you for sharing your family story.
Below are a few of my favourites
“I see him. The wounded fighter who drank the sorrow of loss and bled his pain into captivating verses. The wanderer who traversed every corner of the world searching for a home.”
“.. I see fragments of our history slipping through the trembling fingers of this old man who calls himself George..”
“ ‘I will consider your proposal,’ he says, nodding. ‘After all, you are a writer – and mine is the best story you will ever write.’”
“But hope always manages to spring from the pit of despair.”
“Pride and joy gave way to an irrational but real fear of loss. That was how this family had become. That is what life had shaped them into. Happiness was always a reminder of grief; pride a reminder of disappointment; and joy always bought his evil cousin, foreboding.”
“Souhailah never felt she needed to change her pace for him. She took graceful consistent steps, savouring each moment along the way. Her feet struck the ground like the hand of a clock, always moving to the same measured rhythm. Their differences were clear for anyone to see. Karim was always animated, she was always calm; he was bold, she was shy; he could speak all day, and she never got tired of listening. He composed poetic phrases, she was like poetry - composed.”
“‘There is a mistake. I’m not a refugee. I am from Gaza. I live in the same home my father was born into and his father before him. We are not refugees. We are on our land. In our homeland.’
‘Son,’ the officer said, exasperated. ‘no country, no government, no passport, no visa. May God help you, just register yourself as a refugee and get a damn travel document. Next please!”
“Beware the wrath of those who don’t share your predicament.”
“Authoritarian powers can only exist through the people’s blind obedience. So, they hand us prepackaged religious beliefs and make us so busy performing the shallow rituals that we forget how to think for ourselves, and how to ask questions.”
“But I was born into love. I was born of love. How bad can this be?”
4 ⭐️ Audiobook read by Samah Sabawi also eBook to see the family pictures
The dedication reads:
For our children
These are your stories - born of truth, sprinkled with wonder, aged with time
The Author’s Note mentions: “There are at least two stories warring here: the story that I wanted to write, and the story my father wanted to tell; the personal story of a family and the collective story of a nation.”
With this in mind, Samah weaves a seamless tale, a rich tapestry of real life events in her family’s history, along with a few threads of fiction.
Deserving of the shortlist for the Stella Prize. I feel I have been sprinkled with a bit of Samah’s wonder having read it. Thank you for sharing your family story.
Below are a few of my favourites
“I see him. The wounded fighter who drank the sorrow of loss and bled his pain into captivating verses. The wanderer who traversed every corner of the world searching for a home.”
“.. I see fragments of our history slipping through the trembling fingers of this old man who calls himself George..”
“ ‘I will consider your proposal,’ he says, nodding. ‘After all, you are a writer – and mine is the best story you will ever write.’”
“But hope always manages to spring from the pit of despair.”
“Pride and joy gave way to an irrational but real fear of loss. That was how this family had become. That is what life had shaped them into. Happiness was always a reminder of grief; pride a reminder of disappointment; and joy always bought his evil cousin, foreboding.”
“Souhailah never felt she needed to change her pace for him. She took graceful consistent steps, savouring each moment along the way. Her feet struck the ground like the hand of a clock, always moving to the same measured rhythm. Their differences were clear for anyone to see. Karim was always animated, she was always calm; he was bold, she was shy; he could speak all day, and she never got tired of listening. He composed poetic phrases, she was like poetry - composed.”
“‘There is a mistake. I’m not a refugee. I am from Gaza. I live in the same home my father was born into and his father before him. We are not refugees. We are on our land. In our homeland.’
‘Son,’ the officer said, exasperated. ‘no country, no government, no passport, no visa. May God help you, just register yourself as a refugee and get a damn travel document. Next please!”
“Beware the wrath of those who don’t share your predicament.”
“Authoritarian powers can only exist through the people’s blind obedience. So, they hand us prepackaged religious beliefs and make us so busy performing the shallow rituals that we forget how to think for ourselves, and how to ask questions.”
“But I was born into love. I was born of love. How bad can this be?”
4 ⭐️ Audiobook read by Samah Sabawi also eBook to see the family pictures
December 21, 2024
Samah Sabawit’s “Cactus Pear for My Beloved” is a thoroughly decent book, but - despite the monumental life events described within - I will confess to finding it a bit dull. It is the kind of book that feels more worthy than enjoyable, like something you’re supposed to admire rather than get lost in.
The structure is episodic, which works in fits and starts. Skipping explanations and avoiding deep psychological exploration of characters, it instead relies on the vibrancy of their world to hold your attention. Sometimes, this pays off, but other times, I felt like I was purusing images from someone's family album without the bigger picture to tie it all together.
It’s a semi-memoir, blurring the line between personal narrative and historical account. I always feel a bit wary of this approach. It can work, but here it made it harder for me to settle in. I kept wondering if I was reading fact or fiction, and I’m not sure the book does enough to make that ambiguity feel intentional rather than distracting.
The focus on Gaza and the author’s family history is no doubt remarkable, especially if you’re drawn to personal stories rooted in political struggle. I get why these moments matter to the family, but I have to admit they didn’t always engage me. Perhaps that’s because I already know the broad strokes of Palestinian history, so the material felt familiar rather than revelatory.
I also struggled with the tone. There’s something academic about it, like it’s observing its subjects rather than letting you get inside their lives. It felt distant, and that made it hard for me to stay emotionally invested.
There are some strong images and scenes, and I respect what Sabawit is trying to do. Still, the book never quite grabbed me. It felt more like an intellectual exercise than a story I could sink into.
⭐ ⭐
The structure is episodic, which works in fits and starts. Skipping explanations and avoiding deep psychological exploration of characters, it instead relies on the vibrancy of their world to hold your attention. Sometimes, this pays off, but other times, I felt like I was purusing images from someone's family album without the bigger picture to tie it all together.
It’s a semi-memoir, blurring the line between personal narrative and historical account. I always feel a bit wary of this approach. It can work, but here it made it harder for me to settle in. I kept wondering if I was reading fact or fiction, and I’m not sure the book does enough to make that ambiguity feel intentional rather than distracting.
The focus on Gaza and the author’s family history is no doubt remarkable, especially if you’re drawn to personal stories rooted in political struggle. I get why these moments matter to the family, but I have to admit they didn’t always engage me. Perhaps that’s because I already know the broad strokes of Palestinian history, so the material felt familiar rather than revelatory.
I also struggled with the tone. There’s something academic about it, like it’s observing its subjects rather than letting you get inside their lives. It felt distant, and that made it hard for me to stay emotionally invested.
There are some strong images and scenes, and I respect what Sabawit is trying to do. Still, the book never quite grabbed me. It felt more like an intellectual exercise than a story I could sink into.
⭐ ⭐
October 11, 2025
4,75 ⭐
"But hope always manages to spring from the pit of despair"
"We cannot rely on one occupation to free us from another, or one tyrant to free us from another......Freedom will not come to us through an external power. We have to earn it ourselves."
"Pride and joy gave way to an irrational but real fear of loss. That was how this family had become. That is what life had shaped them into. Happiness was always a reminder of grief; pride a reminder of disappointment; and joy always brought his evil cousin, foreboding."
"There is a mistake. I'm not a refugee. I am from Gaza. I live in the same home my father was born into, and his father before him. We are not refugees. We are on our land. In our homeland."
"Authoritarian powers can only exist through the people's blind obedience. So, they hand us prepackaged religious beliefs and make us so busy performing the shallow rituals that we forget how to think for ourselves, and how to ask questions."
"Sweet cactus pears are in season, and tonight I will personally peel with my own hands the sweetest cactus pears for my beloved."
"But hope always manages to spring from the pit of despair"
"We cannot rely on one occupation to free us from another, or one tyrant to free us from another......Freedom will not come to us through an external power. We have to earn it ourselves."
"Pride and joy gave way to an irrational but real fear of loss. That was how this family had become. That is what life had shaped them into. Happiness was always a reminder of grief; pride a reminder of disappointment; and joy always brought his evil cousin, foreboding."
"There is a mistake. I'm not a refugee. I am from Gaza. I live in the same home my father was born into, and his father before him. We are not refugees. We are on our land. In our homeland."
"Authoritarian powers can only exist through the people's blind obedience. So, they hand us prepackaged religious beliefs and make us so busy performing the shallow rituals that we forget how to think for ourselves, and how to ask questions."
"Sweet cactus pears are in season, and tonight I will personally peel with my own hands the sweetest cactus pears for my beloved."
March 10, 2025
“It wasn’t until they had finished their dinner, and began sipping on their meramieh tea, that something shifted in the air. An unmistakable sense of foreboding hung thick in the spaces between them, and settled itself in the room like an uninvited guest who kept returning. Pride and joy gave way to an irrational but real fear of loss. That was how this family had become. That is what life had shaped them into. Happiness was always a reminder of grief; pride a reminder of disappointment; and joy always brought his evil cousin, foreboding.”
Sabawi has blended fact and fiction here to create a history that reads more like a novel, with her father and his family at the center. The focus is not on the looming dispossession, but rather on his passion for his neighbour, and love of poetry. Of course, this just makes the loss hit far harder, as we feel what leaving Gaza meant then, just as Gaza faces an impossibly difficult future.
Sabawi has blended fact and fiction here to create a history that reads more like a novel, with her father and his family at the center. The focus is not on the looming dispossession, but rather on his passion for his neighbour, and love of poetry. Of course, this just makes the loss hit far harder, as we feel what leaving Gaza meant then, just as Gaza faces an impossibly difficult future.
October 28, 2025
Very powerful book about the life of a Palestinian man, his love for his country and his strength in the most difficult times. His knowledge and intelligence was seeping through the pages. One of the best literature I have ever read. His story intrigued me like no other.
I hope one day the people of Palestine can live in peace, in their own country without being oppressed by anyone or anything.
I hope one day the people of Palestine can live in peace, in their own country without being oppressed by anyone or anything.
June 19, 2025
I loved the fusion of fiction and non-fiction. The book depicts a beautiful family's experience of occupation in Tuffah of Gaza. The author is able to convey the difficulty and hardship as well as the resilience of the members of her family. Great characters with thoughtful perspectives on the world.
December 18, 2024
ya Allah
December 23, 2024
Beautiful storytelling.
April 24, 2025
This book was just ok for me but I did really appreciate the “Trojan horse” style of education wrapped in narrative. I learnt a lot about Palestinian history through the eyes of a child then a young man. While this book is classified as non-fiction (biography), it is written in a storytelling style, which is mainly what didn’t work for me. I also didn’t love the voice the audiobook narrator did for children in the book. 3.5 stars
June 6, 2025
What a heartbreaking read, with a recent history of Palestine told through a family narrative. The author has a deep love of her family that has been so beautifully woven into this book.
July 6, 2025
Deeply moving and beautiful. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would even though I cried most of the way through.
June 6, 2025
a very important read!!
June 15, 2025
Overall, an interesting book where I learnt a lot about Gaza. The story of love and family was sometimes lost in the recounting of history making it less cohesiveness
December 13, 2025
Beautifully written, I was moved to tears multiple times..
October 29, 2024
Upon reading the title, I anticipated a distressing love story set against a backdrop of hardship in Palestine. Instead, I found myself immersed in a profound exploration of the 1948 Nakbah, the 1967 Naksa, and the myriad of struggles, suffering and tragedies that have shaped Palestine—narrated through the lens of love stories. In this remarkable work, Samah masterfully conveys the passion, warmth, and complexity of her characters, even those who might initially seem unlikable. Samah intricately weaves love into the fabric of the narrative, making it an essential thread that unites the story. Her captivating writing style draws you in from the very first moment, leaving a lasting impression.
Majeda
Majeda
August 7, 2025
Allow me to convey how much I loved this book. The moment my (borrowed) copy was finished, I went online and purchased my very own copy of this book. What an absolute gem, a diamond in the rough. If given the chance, please listen to the audiobook read by the author herself.
March 8, 2025
A personal family history of love, family, exile, and a country fighting to exist. From early Palestinian days of English occupation, and the presence of Australian soldiers during the war, to the Nakba and the ever encroaching bloody Israeli occupation.
Samah begins with present days moments with her father in Australia, in declining mobility but not of mind. She begins the discussion about writing his story, which is ultimately the family's story, but also a Palestinian history. Her Author's Note explains that she took her father back to Gaza to visit the places of his story, as part of the process of writing. Which has made it all the more vivid, and emotional.
Karim is the son of a disabled Palestinian scholar and teacher, and the love of his life, Khadija. From humble beginnings, living in poverty of resources but not lacking in love, poetry and knowledge, they build a beautiful family, community, and life.
Karim supports his family through working from a very early age, alongside attending school, attending his father's home school group, becoming politically aware, and developing an unbreakable bond with his future wife, their neighbour's daughter.
The struggles for Palestine are never far from having an impact, including periods of unrest and danger, and eventual period as displaced people in their own country. The building of danger and tension which leads to the eventual exile for the family is heartbreaking, and continues to this day.
Woven through are poems from Karim, translated and shared here by Samah. A beautiful tribute and record of the family's life, thoughts, and resistance.
This is such an important story, for all Australians to understand the history of Palestinian-Australian refugees, and the ongoing resistance of Palestinians to hold on to their land, their country, their home, and identity.
Samah begins with present days moments with her father in Australia, in declining mobility but not of mind. She begins the discussion about writing his story, which is ultimately the family's story, but also a Palestinian history. Her Author's Note explains that she took her father back to Gaza to visit the places of his story, as part of the process of writing. Which has made it all the more vivid, and emotional.
Karim is the son of a disabled Palestinian scholar and teacher, and the love of his life, Khadija. From humble beginnings, living in poverty of resources but not lacking in love, poetry and knowledge, they build a beautiful family, community, and life.
Karim supports his family through working from a very early age, alongside attending school, attending his father's home school group, becoming politically aware, and developing an unbreakable bond with his future wife, their neighbour's daughter.
The struggles for Palestine are never far from having an impact, including periods of unrest and danger, and eventual period as displaced people in their own country. The building of danger and tension which leads to the eventual exile for the family is heartbreaking, and continues to this day.
Woven through are poems from Karim, translated and shared here by Samah. A beautiful tribute and record of the family's life, thoughts, and resistance.
This is such an important story, for all Australians to understand the history of Palestinian-Australian refugees, and the ongoing resistance of Palestinians to hold on to their land, their country, their home, and identity.
May 11, 2025
Actual rating: 4.5.
Samah Sabawi's book is a warm and engaging family memoir with fictionalised elements, but that is not all it is by a long chalk. This is not just a great read, it's an important one.
It is also a potent political history of Gaza from the post-war formation of the state of Israel until the 1967 Six Days War and its aftermath, which resulted in the exile of almost a quarter of a million Palestinians from their homeland.
Telling this story through the experience of one family (her own), Sabawi is able to highlight the injustice and the horror of what happened in Gaza in that time, which inevitably casts light on what is happening now, and the deep existential injuries and losses that led to the current dreadful situation.
Sabawi's grandparents and parents are the focus of the book, and she brings them to life with such a vivid, loving touch that I feel like I know them as people from having read the words. While Sabawi was an infant herself when the family left Gaza, the depth of her understanding and commitment to place hangs in every word she writes. An exile from a particular space she may be, but it is clear that she is not exiled from community or culture.
In particular, her father Kasim, a noted poet, springs up from the page in technicolour. His intellectual, political and emotional journey is riveting, from a loving, poor, but mostly secure childhood as the eldest son of a disabled but noted local sheikh, to his young adulthood as a wooer of his childhood sweetheart, poet, teacher, journalist, resistance fighter, and eventual exile. It is Kasim that provides the beating heart of the book, and is, ultimately, its first and last voice.
Samah Sabawi's book is a warm and engaging family memoir with fictionalised elements, but that is not all it is by a long chalk. This is not just a great read, it's an important one.
It is also a potent political history of Gaza from the post-war formation of the state of Israel until the 1967 Six Days War and its aftermath, which resulted in the exile of almost a quarter of a million Palestinians from their homeland.
Telling this story through the experience of one family (her own), Sabawi is able to highlight the injustice and the horror of what happened in Gaza in that time, which inevitably casts light on what is happening now, and the deep existential injuries and losses that led to the current dreadful situation.
Sabawi's grandparents and parents are the focus of the book, and she brings them to life with such a vivid, loving touch that I feel like I know them as people from having read the words. While Sabawi was an infant herself when the family left Gaza, the depth of her understanding and commitment to place hangs in every word she writes. An exile from a particular space she may be, but it is clear that she is not exiled from community or culture.
In particular, her father Kasim, a noted poet, springs up from the page in technicolour. His intellectual, political and emotional journey is riveting, from a loving, poor, but mostly secure childhood as the eldest son of a disabled but noted local sheikh, to his young adulthood as a wooer of his childhood sweetheart, poet, teacher, journalist, resistance fighter, and eventual exile. It is Kasim that provides the beating heart of the book, and is, ultimately, its first and last voice.
December 1, 2025
An interesting novel about a Palestinian family from mainly around the 1940s to the Six Days War in 1967. It tells the life of a family in Gaza as recalled between a father and daughter. The novel is a semi autobiographical. Karim’s family witnesses violence all around them but believes that they will be fine living in Palestine in the 1940s. However the events of 1948 with the Israeli state being formed, puts the family in uncharted territory. They had lived through the presence of British and Australian soldiers during World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. In 1948 they are letdown by the lack of support of Arab governments during 1948, which led to Gaza being subject to Egyptian army control between the Israelis took over.
A thought provoking book that provides the Palestinian perspective in relation to having their property taken from them and being forced to relocate against their will.
A novel that explores family life, love, history, politics, conflict, resistance, displacement and exile.
Here are two quotes from the book:
“We cannot rely on one occupation to free us from another, or one tyrant to free us from another. We fought with the British against the Ottomans, and they betrayed us and promised to give our lands to the Jews. Haven’t we learned through an external power. We have to earn it ourselves.”
“They gave them everything. They gave them the official government buildings, the airports, the seaports, the military equipment and the training. Everything! And they gave us checkpoints, prison cells, torture chambers and targeted assassinations for any one of us who tries to resist.”
This book was first published in 2024 and shortlisted for The 2025 Stella Prize.
A thought provoking book that provides the Palestinian perspective in relation to having their property taken from them and being forced to relocate against their will.
A novel that explores family life, love, history, politics, conflict, resistance, displacement and exile.
Here are two quotes from the book:
“We cannot rely on one occupation to free us from another, or one tyrant to free us from another. We fought with the British against the Ottomans, and they betrayed us and promised to give our lands to the Jews. Haven’t we learned through an external power. We have to earn it ourselves.”
“They gave them everything. They gave them the official government buildings, the airports, the seaports, the military equipment and the training. Everything! And they gave us checkpoints, prison cells, torture chambers and targeted assassinations for any one of us who tries to resist.”
This book was first published in 2024 and shortlisted for The 2025 Stella Prize.
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