A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR from NPRÂ Â âĸ Set in Jaffa in between 1947 and 1951, this âfable-like historical novel of young love ... darkly humorous and touchingâ (Oprah Daily) is based on a true story during the beginning of the destruction of Palestine and displacement of its people.
Based on the true story of two Jaffa teenagers, Mother of Strangers follows the daily lives of Subhi, a fifteen-year-old mechanic, and Shams, the thirteen-year-old student he hopes to marry one day. In this prosperous and cosmopolitan port city, with its bustling markets, cinemas, and cafÊs on the hills overlooking the MediterÂranean Sea, we meet many other unforgettable characÂters as well, including Khawaja Michael, the elegant and successful owner of orange groves above the harbor; Mr. Hassan, the tailor who makes Subhiâs treasured English suit, which he hopes will change his life; and the very mischievous and outrageous Uncle Habeeb, who insists on introducing Subhi to the local bordello.
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With a thriving orange export business, Jaffa had always been a city welcoming to outsidersâthe âMother of Strangersââwhere Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived peacefully together. Once the bombardment of the city begins in April 1948, Suad Amiry gives us the grim but fascinating details of the shock, panic, and destrucÂtion that ensues. Jaffa becomes unrecognizable, with neighborhoods flattened, families removed from their homes and separated, and those who remain in constant danger of arrest and incarceration. Most of the populaÂtion flees eastward to Jordan or by sea to Lebanon in the north or to Egypt and Gaza in the south. Subhi and Shams will never see each other again.
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Suad Amiry has written a vivid and devastating acÂcount of a seminal moment in the history of the Middle Eastâthe beginning of the end of Palestine and a porÂtrait of a city irrevocably changed.