East Jerusalem Noir

"East Jerusalem's thorny politics run through each of the thirteen stories comprising this sturdy entry in Akashic's long-running regional noir series, which is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir . . . Written with passion and empathy, the volume's strength lies in giving voice to the varied experiences of Palestinians who live, work, and write in one of the world's most complicated cities. It's a fascinating glimpse of life under occupation." --Publishers Weekly

FROM THE EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: "When you move through the streets of Jerusalem today, you will notice that history surrounds you from all sides. You hear Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin from the Dome of the Rock; you hear the bells of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Christians pray, accompanied by the voices of the Jewish worshippers at the Wailing Wall. You are filled with awe and stand helpless to do anything except feel both joy and sadness at the same time. Your feelings mingle, your thoughts get confused, and you peer at the sky waiting for God's mercy and relief . . . The stories here are varied, and I did not interfere with the writers' content. I asked them to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they want it to be, and as they imagine it in the past, the present, and the future . . . And now we put the black box in your hands! Kindly open it to reveal the secrets of Jerusalem and its people, who wake up to the sound of a forgotten rooster from a previous era to declare the beginning of a new dawn, so that life will not stop recording its new diary entries."

Featuring brand-new stories by: Nuzha Abu Ghosh, Ibrahim Jouhar, Osama Alaysa, Rahaf al-Sa'ad, Ziad Khadash, Mahmoud Shukair, Iyad Shamasnah, Rafiqa Othman, Dima al-Samman, Majid Abu Ghosh, Muhammad Shuraim, Jameel al-Salhout, and Nuzha al-Ramlawi.

Translated from Arabic by: Roger Allen, Marilyn Booth, Catherine Cobham, Raphael Cormack, Sawad Hussain, Dr. Nazih Kassis, Nancy Roberts, and Max Weiss.

East Jerusalem Noir is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir, edited by Maayan Eitan. The companion volume explores the city with brand-new stories by Israeli authors.

Author: Rawya Jarjoura Burbara
Publisher: Akashic Books
Published: 11/07/2023
Pages: 200
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.44lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.25w
ISBN: 9781617759857


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 09/01/2023 pg. 10
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 10/16/2023
Shelf Awareness 11/24/2023

About the Author

Rawya Jarjoura Burbara was born in Nazareth in 1969. She currently serves as chief inspector director of Arabic at the Ministry of Education, and is a lecturer in Oranim College's language department. Burbara is also a writer, and her tenth book, a collection of short stories titled I Do Not Want to Get Used to You, was published in 2021. Her Arabic novel On the Shores of Wandering was translated into Hebrew and published by Pardes in 2020.