The Blue Between Sky and Water

Last updated December 21, 2024

The Blue Between Sky and Water is a book written by Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa. The book is Abulhawa's second novel and was sold in 19 languages before its release, and was published in English in 2015. The book navigates the experience of three generations of Palestinian women as they face the consequences of the Israeli occupation.

Synopsis

Nazmiyeh

The story begins in the village of Bayt Daras with the onset of the Nakba. Nazmiyeh's family home is stormed while she is alone with her younger sister. She is raped by Jewish guerilla forces who then proceed to kill her sister in front of her. Eventually the family flees to Gaza, where Nazmiyeh marries her childhood lover, within a few months, though she never reveals to anyone about the instance of the rape. Her first born child, a boy, has blue eyes. The boy grows into a resistance fighter who is imprisoned by Israel.^[1]

Nur

Nazmiyeh's brother moves to America seeking better opportunities. He and his American wife have one son, Michael, who has completely lost his connection to his Palestinian identity. Michael has a daughter, Nur, who spends the most time with her grandpa, following her dad's death in a car accident. Following her grandpa's death from illness, Nur is taken back in by her American mother who ends up marrying another man, who subsequently abuses Nur.^[1]

Nur decides to go back to Gaza where she is able to find Nazmiyeh and reconnects with her homeland. The novel ends with Nur celebrating with Nazmiyeh as a prisoner release is announced and there is hope that Nazmiyeh's son might be among those released.^[1]

Reception

Dorothy Reno, writing for the Washington Independent Review of Books , states that the book's readers are "charmed by Abulhawa’s glittering language".^[1] Imogen Edge-Partington, writing for The Student, attributes the novel's success to "its many dimensions and its intricate complexity".^[2]

Atef Abu Saif, reviewing the novel for The Guardian , described it as "not only a story about displacement. It takes in love, hatred, sex, rape, survival, death, loss and belonging. It is full of celebratory dances, partying on the beach, mourning, fear, mysteries, dirty jokes and national heroism."^[3]

Margie Orford, writing for The Independent , describes the author's voice in the book as "a voice that returns to the world the stories of Palestine that we ignore at our peril".^[4]

Related Research Articles

The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. Inhabited by mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Gaza is one of the most densely populated territories in the world. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

Palestinian Jews or Jewish Palestinians were the Jews who inhabited Palestine prior to the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948.

Palestinian art is a term used to refer to artwork either originating from historic Palestine, as well as paintings, posters, installation art, costumes, and handcrafts produced by Palestinian artists in modern and contemporary times.

Palestinian literature refers to the Arabic language novels, short stories and poems produced by Palestinians. Forming part of the broader genre of Arabic literature, contemporary Palestinian literature is often characterized by its heightened sense of irony and the exploration of existential themes and issues of identity. References to the subjects of resistance to occupation, exile, loss, and love and longing for homeland are also common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jabalia refugee camp</span> Refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Jabalia Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp established in 1948 by the United Nations to house those displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion. Located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) north of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip, it is the largest refugee camp in Palestinian territory, with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Due to Israeli attacks during the Israel–Hamas war, the refugee camp was described as "destroyed".

Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian American scientist, writer and activist. Her first novel, Mornings in Jenin, was translated into 32 languages and sold more than a million copies. The sales and reach of her debut novel made Abulhawa the most widely read Palestinian author of all time. Her second novel, The Blue Between Sky and Water (2015), was translated in 19 languages. Against the Loveless World, her third novel, was released in August 2020, also to critical acclaim. She is a human rights activist and animal rights advocate and founded the children’s organization Playgrounds for Palestine.

<i>Mornings in Jenin</i> 2010 novel by Susan Abulhawa

Mornings in Jenin, is a novel by author Susan Abulhawa.

Asmaa al-Ghoul is a Palestinian journalist and secular feminist known for her outspoken criticism of "the corruption of Fatah and the terrorism of Hamas." Described by The New York Times as a woman "known for her defiant stance against the violations of civil rights in Gaza," al-Ghoul currently resides in Southern France. She maintains a substantial social media presence through her self-styled channel, where she regularly shares significant breaking news stories.

Susan Muaddi Darraj is a Palestinian American writer. Born in Philadelphia to Palestinian immigrant parents, she attended Rutgers University - Camden, NJ, where she earned a master's degree in English Literature. She has authored several collections of fiction, young adult and children's books, as well as academic and personal essays and articles. Muaddi Darraj is a tenured professor of English Literature at Harford Community College as well as a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Johns Hopkins University. She lives in Baltimore, MD.

Selma Dabbagh is a British-Palestinian writer and lawyer. Her 2011 debut novel, Out of It, inspired by the 2008 Gaza Air Strikes, was nominated for a Guardian Book of the Year award in 2011 and 2012. Her shorter writings have been published by outlets including International PEN, Granta, The Guardian, London Review of Books and GQ magazine.

Atef Abu Saif is a Palestinian writer. His books have been translated into various languages, and his writings have also been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Guernica, and Slate. He has served as a spokesman for Fatah and served as Minister for Culture in the Palestine Authority since 2019.

Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor is an independent, nonprofit organization for the protection of human rights.

<i>Salt Houses</i> 2017 book by Hala Alyan

Salt Houses is a 2017 historical fiction novel by Palestinian-American author Hala Alyan.

Mass civilian casualties of Israeli bombing, shelling and rocket attacks on the Gaza Strip have occurred in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, in which Israeli bombing attacks on the Gaza Strip cause numerous civilian fatalities. The reason for such operations is purportedly to carry out targeted assassinations of militants from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups seen to be a threat to Israel, whose Shin Bet data banks monitor thousands of Palestinians for targeting. Israel regards such cases as either unfortunate errors, the consequence of civilians being allegedly used to shield militants, or as acceptable collateral damage.

<i>Apeirogon</i> (novel) 2020 novel by Colum McCann

Apeirogon is a novel by Colum McCann, published in February 2020. The novel explores the conflict in the Middle East. It follows the story of two men who each lost a daughter. One is Palestinian, the other Israeli.

Maya Abu Al-Hayat (1980) is a Palestinian novelist, poet, storyteller, and translator, born in Beirut. She has published three novels and three collections of poetry. Her books have gained worldwide recognition, and some of her stories have been translated into different languages. Abu Al-Hayat also worked as an actress and ran the Palestine Writing Workshop. Abu Al-Hayat played a prominent role in children's literature, writing and presenting television programs for children, including "Iftah Ya Simsim," and was distinguished by her writing of children's stories.

A Suspended Life is a novel written by a Palestinian novelist Atef Abu Saif. The novel was first released in 2015 by Al-Ahliya Publishing and Distribution House in Amman. It entered the final "short" list of the 2015 World Prize for Arabic Fiction, known as the "Arab Booker Prize".

The Palestinian Press Agency, also known as the Safa News Agency, is a Gaza-based Palestinian news agency affiliated with Hamas.

Zanana is an Arabic slang term used by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The word means "buzzing sound" and it is used to refer to the noise produced by Israeli drones in the sky over Gaza, as well as to the drones themselves.

Rima Bali is a Syrian writer of contemporary Arabic fiction. The author of four novels, she is mostly known for having been shortlisted for the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) based in Abu Dhabi and mentored by the Booker Prize Foundation in London.

References

1 2 3 4 "The Blue between Sky and Water: A Novel | Washington Independent Review of Books". www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
↑ "The Blue Between Sky and Water". studentnewspaper.org. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
↑ Saif, Atef Abu (2015-08-06). "The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa review – a displaced Palestinian family's bid for survival". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-12-20.
↑ "The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa, book review". The Independent. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2024-03-01.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 "The Blue between Sky and Water: A Novel | Washington Independent Review of Books". www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.

[2] "The Blue Between Sky and Water". studentnewspaper.org. Retrieved 2024-03-01.

[3] Saif, Atef Abu (2015-08-06). "The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa review – a displaced Palestinian family's bid for survival". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-12-20.

[4] "The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa, book review". The Independent. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2024-03-01.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]