Description
Immerse yourself in a brilliant, deeply nuanced masterpiece of identity, historical reclamation, and survival written entirely behind bars by award-winning Palestinian author Bassem Khandaqji. The gripping narrative centers on Nur Mahdi al-Shahdi, a highly educated archaeology graduate living under constrained circumstances in a refugee camp near Ramallah. Gifted with pale features and blue eyes, Nur is frequently mistaken for an Ashkenazi Jew, speaking fluent Hebrew while secretly harboring plans to write a subversive novel restoring Mary Magdalene from centuries of biblical erasure.
His ordinary life shifts dramatically when he discovers a blue Israeli identity card inside the pocket of a secondhand coat. Seizing this dangerous mask, he assumes the persona of the card’s original owner, Or Shapira, which allows him to move freely through previously off-limits zones and secure employment at an official archaeological excavation near Megiddo. As his double life deepens, he witnesses firsthand how historical science is weaponized to construct dominant political claims over ancient soil. This extraordinary novel won the prestigious 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
