Out Of It
Selma Dabbagh
Gaza is being bombed. Rashid wakes to discover he's got a scholarship to London, the escape route he's been waiting for. Meanwhile, his twin sister, Iman, frustrated by the atrocities and inaction around her, grabs recklessly at an opportunity to make a difference. Sabri, the oldest brother works on a history of Palestine from his wheelchair as their mother pickles vegetables and feuds with their neighbours.
Out of It follows Rashid and Iman as they try to forge places for themselves in the midst of occupation, religious fundamentalism and the divisions between Palestinian factions. It tells of family secrets, unlikely love stories and unburied tragedies as it captures the frustrations and energies of the modern Arab World.
'I always find it difficult to describe what Gaza is like ... It’s hard to get the claustrophobia of siege across to an audience. This debut novel from British Palestinian Selma Dabbagh, set in Gaza City during the second intifada in the 00s, does that well. Dabbagh is gentle in her treatment of the Mujahed family, chronicling their hopes and dreams as well as their suffering' Guardian, Five of the best books to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict
Product Details
About Selma Dabbagh
Reviews for Out Of It
Guardian, Five of the best books to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict
A punchy first novel by a British Palestinian lawyer ... Beautifully observed ... the plot races and the voices are strong. The reader follows each person down the chosen path and, crucially, cares what becomes of them
The Times
[Dabbagh's] talent for nailing detail is evident ... The author's assured command of her material means she can switch registers with ease, interleaving escalating tension and welcome humour ... Dabbagh herself scores highly with her debut novel
Independent
This is a very successful debut novel ... The writing is both literary and accessible, fast-paced, passionate, exuberant and heart-lurching. We'll be hearing much more from Selma Dabbagh
Guardian
Incendiary
Mariella Frostrup, Open Book, BBC Radio 4
A breezy, thriller-esque debut ... that gets under the skin of the situation in Gaza
Metro
Wonderfully perceptive and gripping
Daily Mirror
An engrossing, suspenseful debut novel
Ashley Bates
Tikkun
Takes us, observantly and deftly, into the lives and feelings of those who live in Gaza and want ordinary lives
Marina Warner, Observer, Books of the Year