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Leila and Khaled: A Novel
Two Palestinians search for a language of love amid the ruins of dispossession.
Leila, a Palestinian Canadian film scholar, joins a delegation of academics on her first journey to Occupied Palestine. What begins as an intellectual pilgrimage becomes an intimate, destabilizing return to an ancestral land her family was exiled from. There, she meets Khaled―a younger Palestinian man who pulls her into a mesmeric trance of desire, curiosity, and confrontation. Their brief, charged affair unfolds in a landscape shaped by rupture and resistance, each of them bearing different inheritances of the same loss. Leila and Khaled is a love story and a reckoning―a lyrical, unflinching meditation on belonging, memory, and the enduring wounds of colonialism.
Leila, a Palestinian Canadian film scholar, joins a delegation of academics on her first journey to Occupied Palestine. What begins as an intellectual pilgrimage becomes an intimate, destabilizing return to an ancestral land her family was exiled from. There, she meets Khaled―a younger Palestinian man who pulls her into a mesmeric trance of desire, curiosity, and confrontation. Their brief, charged affair unfolds in a landscape shaped by rupture and resistance, each of them bearing different inheritances of the same loss. Leila and Khaled is a love story and a reckoning―a lyrical, unflinching meditation on belonging, memory, and the enduring wounds of colonialism.
264 pages, Paperback
Published August 11, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 26, 2026
4⭐️
Thank you House of Anansi for the gifted copy.
This was an interesting read and not just a romance novel. It’s a love story woven together with the realities of occupation, generational trauma, and the search for home. The romance is more secondary to the story, but it’s also the reason for many of the central conversations throughout the book.
We meet Leila, a 50 year old Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker, who travels to Occupied Palestine with a delegation. There, she meets Khaled, who is helping guide the group during their trip.
R Right away, we can see an instant connection between Leila and Khaled as they get to know each other during evenings out with the group. Along the way, they have conversations about the occupation and what it has meant for the people of Palestine.
They begin a brief but intense affair, and after spending a night together, Khaled shares his story with Leila. Their conversation leads them to grapple with inherited trauma and the impossibility of separating their romance from history.
As the trip progresses, Leila visits places connected to her father’s childhood and learns more about her family’s history. Walking the streets and seeing the checkpoints, separation barriers, settlements, and villages makes that history feel much more real. The book did a great job in giving us glimpses into history and what has been impacted and what life really is like after the Occupation.
Of course, there are challenges with Khaled ever leaving Palestine and Leila who has a life waiting for her in Canada, and they are forced to face the realities of their situation.
The story was told very well and there’s a lot to learn from just reading this as well.
I won’t spoil the rest! One thing worth noting is that this story takes place just before the pandemic begins in 2020 -before the current genocide. That detail made the ending even more emotional for me because it left me wondering what would have happened to Khaled afterward. 💔 I don’t event want to know….
✧˚📚 Pre-Read Notes 🤍
Gifted by the House of Anansi .. sounds like a beautiful story
Can’t wait to read
Thank you House of Anansi for the gifted copy.
This was an interesting read and not just a romance novel. It’s a love story woven together with the realities of occupation, generational trauma, and the search for home. The romance is more secondary to the story, but it’s also the reason for many of the central conversations throughout the book.
We meet Leila, a 50 year old Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker, who travels to Occupied Palestine with a delegation. There, she meets Khaled, who is helping guide the group during their trip.
R Right away, we can see an instant connection between Leila and Khaled as they get to know each other during evenings out with the group. Along the way, they have conversations about the occupation and what it has meant for the people of Palestine.
They begin a brief but intense affair, and after spending a night together, Khaled shares his story with Leila. Their conversation leads them to grapple with inherited trauma and the impossibility of separating their romance from history.
As the trip progresses, Leila visits places connected to her father’s childhood and learns more about her family’s history. Walking the streets and seeing the checkpoints, separation barriers, settlements, and villages makes that history feel much more real. The book did a great job in giving us glimpses into history and what has been impacted and what life really is like after the Occupation.
Of course, there are challenges with Khaled ever leaving Palestine and Leila who has a life waiting for her in Canada, and they are forced to face the realities of their situation.
The story was told very well and there’s a lot to learn from just reading this as well.
I won’t spoil the rest! One thing worth noting is that this story takes place just before the pandemic begins in 2020 -before the current genocide. That detail made the ending even more emotional for me because it left me wondering what would have happened to Khaled afterward. 💔 I don’t event want to know….
✧˚📚 Pre-Read Notes 🤍
Gifted by the House of Anansi .. sounds like a beautiful story
Can’t wait to read
October 19, 2026
I was sold a pup with this one. I thought it was going to be more of a romance/ historical fiction but it was more like a forcibly spoonfed history lesson. My heart wanted to give it more than 2 stars, but the authors writing completely detracts from the point of the story. Too much is trying to be done with the prose and the obvious want to be poignant and lyrical just makes the story drag in the most disengaging way. I enjoyed Khaled’s retelling of his experiences engaging with an Israeli politician and ex solider and the hypocrisy of the Israeli regime, but overall unfortunately it just fell a little flat in comparison to some of the other fantastic Palestinian fiction books I’ve read this year.
Read
October 10, 2026Thank you to House of Anansi Press for the gifted copy! #AnansiReaderProgram
This book made me feel things. First on the name, I just came across the Palestinian political activist, Leila Khaled, and I couldn't help but wonder whether the title Leila & Khaled is a tribute to her...
Anyway, the novel follows Leila, a Palestinian Canadian film scholar who travels to Palestine, the land of her ancestors, which her family had fled before she was born. During her trip, she meets Khaled, a younger Palestinian man who not only connects her more deeply to her heritage and the injustices experienced by Palestinians, but with whom she develops a passionate and spiritual attachment. Their relationship shows how love, hope, meaning, and joy can still exist even in the midst of suffering and oppression.
This book was a detailed and painful crash course in Palestinian history, so be prepared to feel both deep sadness and anger at what Palestinians have endured and continue to endure: displacement, massacres, dispossession, dehumanization, oppression, and violence. Much of the history is told through the characters' stories and conversations, giving it a personal touch and linking it to individual lived experiences.
As a protagonist, Leila is written very well, with a clear character arc and development. As the book progresses, it was clear to me how Leila becomes increasingly angry, emotional, and invested in the people and land from which she had been disconnected. I loved seeing her transformation. Her trip to Palestine fundamentally changes her. Leila also begins to reflect on her own experiences growing up in Canada as part of the diaspora, torn between her Palestinian heritage and the Western society that she grew up in, pressured to assimilate into the dominant culture of the country you now call home. I found this aspect of the novel particularly compelling, the exploration of identity and belonging.
That said, this book is slower and introspective, with long monologues and passages of intellectual discussion. I don't mind that at all, but it's definitely not for readers looking for a fast-paced, plot-driven story. This is very much a cerebral and erudite work of literary fiction, with a lot of history and politics, which is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to learn and be educated while still experiencing those ideas through the medium of fiction. Nyla skillfully balanced facts with a prose that was beautifully rich, poetic and complex at times, incorporating her background as a poet.
I really enjoyed this book and learned so much from it. I would definitely refer back to it or read it again to refresh my memory of Palestinian history and the events discussed. It's a book that I think would benefit from rereading, especially to fully absorb everything it has to say.
This book made me feel things. First on the name, I just came across the Palestinian political activist, Leila Khaled, and I couldn't help but wonder whether the title Leila & Khaled is a tribute to her...
Anyway, the novel follows Leila, a Palestinian Canadian film scholar who travels to Palestine, the land of her ancestors, which her family had fled before she was born. During her trip, she meets Khaled, a younger Palestinian man who not only connects her more deeply to her heritage and the injustices experienced by Palestinians, but with whom she develops a passionate and spiritual attachment. Their relationship shows how love, hope, meaning, and joy can still exist even in the midst of suffering and oppression.
This book was a detailed and painful crash course in Palestinian history, so be prepared to feel both deep sadness and anger at what Palestinians have endured and continue to endure: displacement, massacres, dispossession, dehumanization, oppression, and violence. Much of the history is told through the characters' stories and conversations, giving it a personal touch and linking it to individual lived experiences.
As a protagonist, Leila is written very well, with a clear character arc and development. As the book progresses, it was clear to me how Leila becomes increasingly angry, emotional, and invested in the people and land from which she had been disconnected. I loved seeing her transformation. Her trip to Palestine fundamentally changes her. Leila also begins to reflect on her own experiences growing up in Canada as part of the diaspora, torn between her Palestinian heritage and the Western society that she grew up in, pressured to assimilate into the dominant culture of the country you now call home. I found this aspect of the novel particularly compelling, the exploration of identity and belonging.
That said, this book is slower and introspective, with long monologues and passages of intellectual discussion. I don't mind that at all, but it's definitely not for readers looking for a fast-paced, plot-driven story. This is very much a cerebral and erudite work of literary fiction, with a lot of history and politics, which is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to learn and be educated while still experiencing those ideas through the medium of fiction. Nyla skillfully balanced facts with a prose that was beautifully rich, poetic and complex at times, incorporating her background as a poet.
I really enjoyed this book and learned so much from it. I would definitely refer back to it or read it again to refresh my memory of Palestinian history and the events discussed. It's a book that I think would benefit from rereading, especially to fully absorb everything it has to say.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you to House of Anansi Press for the free copy!
Leila is a Palestinian-Canadian film scholar who joins a delegation on a trip to Occupied Palestine. There, she meets Khaled, a younger Palestinian man, and immediately there is a connection between them. On one particular night, Khaled recounts to Leila an encounter he had with a former soldier and paramilitary from the Nakba in 1948, further demonstrating that the Nakba never ended and continues today.
This was an amazing novel! I liked how direct, but lyrical the prose was. I remember this line in particular standing out to me because of how unique it was with the word “whispered”: “while Rome whispered in laundry-blue hues.” Most of all, I loved the discussions that took place between Leila and Khaled throughout. Because Leila grew up in exile in the settler state of Canada, her experiences of loss, g*nocide, and displacement as a Palestinian, were different from Khaled’s experience growing up in Occupied Palestine and witnessing firsthand what it was like to live in occupation. In many ways, Leila had to learn about Palestine on her own as her father rarely spoke of it. This really made me think more about not just memory, but intergenerational trauma, how exile itself is its own trauma and its own violence.
I was completely absorbed in Khaled’s retelling of his encounter with the ex-paramilitary who had participated in the Nakba. This man who had contributed to countless massacres now defined himself as a left-wing critic of the israeli government. But his liberal zionism was still zionism, something that Khaled continuously pointed out to him. I learned a lot from this retelling as Matuk also delves into how Zionist paramilitaries in 1948 enacted their g*nocidal campaigns, from spying on villages and villagers, to instigating violence and carrying out massacres. The ex-paramilitary in the book is loosely based on Uri Avnery, an ex-terrorist member of the Irgun zionist gang.
Lastly, I really loved the romance between Leila and Khaled, even though it was brief, because it was very emotionally charged and had an impact on the both of them. It felt like a reunion between someone in exile and their homeland.
Overall, a beautiful novel that I really recommend reading! I think Nyla Matuk is an excellent author and I will definitely be reading more of her works! 🩷
Leila is a Palestinian-Canadian film scholar who joins a delegation on a trip to Occupied Palestine. There, she meets Khaled, a younger Palestinian man, and immediately there is a connection between them. On one particular night, Khaled recounts to Leila an encounter he had with a former soldier and paramilitary from the Nakba in 1948, further demonstrating that the Nakba never ended and continues today.
This was an amazing novel! I liked how direct, but lyrical the prose was. I remember this line in particular standing out to me because of how unique it was with the word “whispered”: “while Rome whispered in laundry-blue hues.” Most of all, I loved the discussions that took place between Leila and Khaled throughout. Because Leila grew up in exile in the settler state of Canada, her experiences of loss, g*nocide, and displacement as a Palestinian, were different from Khaled’s experience growing up in Occupied Palestine and witnessing firsthand what it was like to live in occupation. In many ways, Leila had to learn about Palestine on her own as her father rarely spoke of it. This really made me think more about not just memory, but intergenerational trauma, how exile itself is its own trauma and its own violence.
I was completely absorbed in Khaled’s retelling of his encounter with the ex-paramilitary who had participated in the Nakba. This man who had contributed to countless massacres now defined himself as a left-wing critic of the israeli government. But his liberal zionism was still zionism, something that Khaled continuously pointed out to him. I learned a lot from this retelling as Matuk also delves into how Zionist paramilitaries in 1948 enacted their g*nocidal campaigns, from spying on villages and villagers, to instigating violence and carrying out massacres. The ex-paramilitary in the book is loosely based on Uri Avnery, an ex-terrorist member of the Irgun zionist gang.
Lastly, I really loved the romance between Leila and Khaled, even though it was brief, because it was very emotionally charged and had an impact on the both of them. It felt like a reunion between someone in exile and their homeland.
Overall, a beautiful novel that I really recommend reading! I think Nyla Matuk is an excellent author and I will definitely be reading more of her works! 🩷
August 12, 2026
This was a very interesting read. I was kindly sent an advance copy from House of Anansi Press and I didn’t quite know what to expect. It got a fair amount of billing as a romance, but I would say the romance was almost secondary, although at the same time it was a catalyst for so much of the central conversation or the book.
Leila is a woman in her early 50s who has grown up in Canada, with parents who were Palestinian refugees. She feels disconnected from her heritage, partially because her father never wanted to talk about his life before coming to Canada. After he passes, she books a trip to visit Palestine and Israel as part of an academic research project. There, she meets Khaled, a Palestinian man who is a decade younger than her. The two are instantly drawn to one another and eventually they begin a brief but intense affair.
Khaled shares his story with Leila, giving her an understanding of what it’s like to live inside the occupation. She is able to compare his experiences with her own, living outside the occupation, but still a victim of it all the same. This, for me, was the strongest part of the story, thinking about the people of Palestine through such a personal, intimate lens - the effect of the colonization and subjugation on those who live there (Khaled), those who fled (Leila’s father) and those who try to understand the land their families left, while growing up in another country, feeling both longing and guilt (Leila).
The Covid pandemic seems to just be starting as Leila leaves Khaled behind to return to her life in Montreal, and of course we all know what has happened to the Palestinian people since 2023, so a pall hangs over the parting of these two characters. It seems unlikely that Khaled would have survived the genocide.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in furthering their understanding of the story of the Palestinian people. Fiction connects us to the stories of others in such an intimate and powerful way.
Leila is a woman in her early 50s who has grown up in Canada, with parents who were Palestinian refugees. She feels disconnected from her heritage, partially because her father never wanted to talk about his life before coming to Canada. After he passes, she books a trip to visit Palestine and Israel as part of an academic research project. There, she meets Khaled, a Palestinian man who is a decade younger than her. The two are instantly drawn to one another and eventually they begin a brief but intense affair.
Khaled shares his story with Leila, giving her an understanding of what it’s like to live inside the occupation. She is able to compare his experiences with her own, living outside the occupation, but still a victim of it all the same. This, for me, was the strongest part of the story, thinking about the people of Palestine through such a personal, intimate lens - the effect of the colonization and subjugation on those who live there (Khaled), those who fled (Leila’s father) and those who try to understand the land their families left, while growing up in another country, feeling both longing and guilt (Leila).
The Covid pandemic seems to just be starting as Leila leaves Khaled behind to return to her life in Montreal, and of course we all know what has happened to the Palestinian people since 2023, so a pall hangs over the parting of these two characters. It seems unlikely that Khaled would have survived the genocide.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in furthering their understanding of the story of the Palestinian people. Fiction connects us to the stories of others in such an intimate and powerful way.
August 25, 2026
|| LEILA & KHALED ||
#gifted/#partner @houseofanansi
•
First of all, this cover! It's one of my favorites of the year! I also enjoyed the novel. From the stunning cover you would think its a steamy romance but the romantic aspects I found more secondary to the heavy themes of the story. Dont get me wrong its a book about desire but its also a powerful story about Palestinian exile and resilience, colonialism, history. This is a great debut. I found the prose poetic, lyrical and compelling.
Out Now!
•
~ Book Description ~
Two Palestinians search for a language of love amid the ruins of dispossession. Leila, a Palestinian Canadian film scholar, joins a delegation of academics on her first journey to Occupied Palestine. What begins as an intellectual pilgrimage becomes an intimate, destabilizing return to an ancestral land her family was exiled from. There, she meets Khaled—a younger Palestinian man who pulls her into a mesmeric trance of desire, curiosity, and confrontation. Their brief, charged affair unfolds in a landscape shaped by rupture and resistance, each of them bearing different inheritances of the same loss. Leila and Khaled is a love story and a reckoning—a lyrical, unflinching meditation on belonging, memory, and the enduring wounds of colonialism.
.
.
.
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#leilaandkhaled
#gifted/#partner @houseofanansi
•
First of all, this cover! It's one of my favorites of the year! I also enjoyed the novel. From the stunning cover you would think its a steamy romance but the romantic aspects I found more secondary to the heavy themes of the story. Dont get me wrong its a book about desire but its also a powerful story about Palestinian exile and resilience, colonialism, history. This is a great debut. I found the prose poetic, lyrical and compelling.
Out Now!
•
~ Book Description ~
Two Palestinians search for a language of love amid the ruins of dispossession. Leila, a Palestinian Canadian film scholar, joins a delegation of academics on her first journey to Occupied Palestine. What begins as an intellectual pilgrimage becomes an intimate, destabilizing return to an ancestral land her family was exiled from. There, she meets Khaled—a younger Palestinian man who pulls her into a mesmeric trance of desire, curiosity, and confrontation. Their brief, charged affair unfolds in a landscape shaped by rupture and resistance, each of them bearing different inheritances of the same loss. Leila and Khaled is a love story and a reckoning—a lyrical, unflinching meditation on belonging, memory, and the enduring wounds of colonialism.
.
.
.
.
#leilaandkhaled
August 13, 2026
This was a compelling read that demonstrates the contemporary experience of living and traveling in Occupied Palestine. The large acts of violence get the most attention in the news, but this novel depicts the stripping of humanity and dignity characteristic of the apartheid state. It utilizes the intrinsic connection between Leila and Khaled, two intellectuals, to unravel the Zionist propaganda and talking points. Simultaneously, these two characters show us the distinct importance of nationality, language, heritage, and religion in one's experience in Palestine today. Leila is of Palestinian heritage but holds a Canadian passport, while Khaled lives in Palestine and works as a tour guide. The love story is a smaller part of the narrative than I expected. It is truly much more focused on showing the beauty of Palestine, the pride of the people, and the cruelty of the occupation and genocide. It is not an easy read, and the injustice weighs heavily throughout the narrative. However, you will be challenged and appreciate the lyricism of Matuk's storytelling. This is an informative and engaging starting point for readers who want to learn more about the Nakba and the ongoing war on Palestine.
August 15, 2026
The cover of this book is so gorgeous, reminds me of Gone with the Wind. The title suggests it’s about a love story, but there isn’t one. Instead, there is a story of a Canadian Palestine woman experiencing her first real, intimate and authentic relationship with a Palestinian man. This story follows Leila as she takes an academic trip to Occupied Palestine, to experience the land first hand vs just hearing about it from her Fathers stories. She meets Khaled, the tour bus driver and through him we learn more about the history of Palestine back in 1948. I had difficulty understanding some parts of the book, due to the political terms I wasn’t aware of. But if you have previous knowledge of what happened in Palestine before you’d enjoy this book. It can take a few readings to fully grasp the conversations as well. I enjoyed reading from the perspective of an older woman living in Canada with two competing cultures in her life.
Thank you to House of Anansi Press for an advance copy of this book.
Thank you to House of Anansi Press for an advance copy of this book.
November 8, 2026
More than a love story, Leila and Khaled tells of two people reckoning with a history and present where their people live under surveillance and constant uncertainty with regards to their existence.
The prose can at times be dense and quite subject specific but parallels the themes being the explored.
The prose can at times be dense and quite subject specific but parallels the themes being the explored.
Read
August 26, 2026I really wanted to like this but I couldn’t get past how over written it is. Not to mention that I just feel like I’m being schooled while reading this.
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
DNF
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
DNF
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews