A Curious Land: Stories from Home (Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction)
A short-story collection set in the Palestinian village of Tel al-Hilou, spanning generations and continents to explore memory and belonging.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Univ of Massachusetts Pr
- Published
- 2016-11-29
- Pages
- 275 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.46 x 1.83 x 21.08 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781625342652
- ISBN-10
- 1625342659
- Price
- 4626 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Short Stories/Single Author
Susan Muaddi Darraj's short story collection about the inhabitants of a Palestinian West Bank village, Tel al-Hilou, spans generations and continents to explore ideas of memory, belonging, connection, and, ultimately, the deepest and richest meaning of home. A Curious Land gives voice to the experiences of Palestinians in the last century. An excerpt from A Curious Land: When Rabab lowered the magad and clapped-clapped to the well in her mother's too-big slippers, the stone jar digging into her shoulder, she didn't, at first, see the body. The morning sun glazed everything around herthe cement homes, the iron rails along one wall, the bars on the windows, the stones around the welland made her squint her itchy eyes. She was hungry. That was all. They'd arrived here only last night, stopping as soon as Awwad and the men were sure the army had moved south. It must have been the third time in just a few weekscollapse the tents, load the mules, disappear into the sands. She hoped this war would end soon, and she didn't really care who won, as long as it ended because they hadn't eaten well in two years. In the past few months, her mother had sold all her gold, except for her bracelet made of liras. It was the only thing left, and she was holding onto it, and Rabab realized, so were they all; she imagined that, the day it was sold, when her mother's wrist was bare, would signal that they were at the end.
Susan Muaddi Darraj's stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in New York Stories, Orchid Literary Review, Banipal, Mizna, al-Jadid , and several anthologies. Her previous short story collection, The Inheritance of Exile, was honored by the U.S. State Department's Arabic Book Program. She is a recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. A Philadelphia native, she currently lives in Baltimore. Susan Muaddi Darrajs stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in New York Stories, Orchid Literary Review, Banipal, Mizna, al-Jadid, and several anthologies. Her previous short story collection, The Inheritance of Exile, was honored by the U.S. State Departments Arabic Book Program. She is a recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. A Philadelphia native, she currently lives in Baltimore.
Reviews
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This is a great book. Well-developed characters that you want to have a cup of coffee with to catch up and see how they are doing now. These are short stories and I found myself wanting to know more about the characters and what happened with them years down the road. Susan should consider screen writing to develop one or more of these short stories into feature length films so that a wider audience can be exposed to "A Curious Land."
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This is an interesting book that has a lot interesting information to learn. I used this item for learning purposes at school and its interesting.
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A great read which I will share with the author.
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Amazing! This collection encapsulates the human experience; the authentic voices of the characters echo the same fears, longings, hopes, and frustrations inside of ourselves. Excellent!
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Such an engaging, beautiful read!