A Mask the Color of the Sky

Winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction

A bold, psychologically rich novel of identity, exile, and resistance from one of Palestine's most vital literary voices--written entirely from behind bars.

Nur, a young Palestinian refugee from a camp near Ramallah, is often mistaken for an Ashkenazi Jew. Fluent in Hebrew and with a degree in archaeology, he dreams of freedom beyond the fences of the camp--and of writing a novel about Mary Magdalene based on the Gnostic Gospels. When he discovers an Israeli ID card in the pocket of a secondhand coat, he assumes a false identity and is hired for an archaeological dig near Megiddo. Passing as an Israeli, he moves through a world previously off-limits, gaining insight into the lives and beliefs of those he's been taught to see as enemies.

But as Nur's borrowed identity deepens, so does the rift within: between Nur, the Palestinian, and "Ur," the Israeli. By exploring this internal conflict, unfolding alongside friendships and love affairs, Bassem Khandaqji offers a meditation on the personal toll of occupation and the elusive desire to belong somewhere--fully, honestly, and without fear.

Bassem Khandaqji, born in 1983 in Nablus, is a Palestinian novelist, poet, and journalist. Arrested in 2004 at the age of twenty-one for his political activities, he continued to write from prison, producing a body of work that has earned wide recognition across the Arab world. His novels are known for their lyrical prose, meticulous research, and deep engagement with Palestinian history and memory. Today, Khandaqji is regarded as one of the most distinctive literary voices of his generation. International human rights observers have long criticized his arrest, trial, and imprisonment. He was released from prison in 2025, one year after A Mask the Color of the Sky won the prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction.