AUTHORS
Bassem Khandaqji
An acclaimed Palestinian novelist, poet, and journalist, Bassem Khandaqji was born in Nablus in 1983. Arrested in 2004 at the age of twenty-one and sentenced to life imprisonment, he completed his degree in Political Science from Al-Quds University from behind bars, transforming two decades of captivity into a powerful crucible of literary creativity. He is the author of several poetry collections-including Rituals of the First Time and The Narcissus of Isolation-as well as celebrated novels such as The Eclipse of Badr al-Din, The Breath of a Woman Let Down, and his monumental work A Mask, the Color of the Sky, which won the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Known for his lyrical prose, meticulous historical research, and fearless exploration of identity, Khandaqji is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive literary voices of contemporary Palestinian literature.
A Mask, the Color of the Sky
WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR ARABIC FICTION 2024.
Written from behind the walls of an Israeli prison, this groundbreaking, multi-layered masterpiece offers a profound exploration of identity, memory, and resistance. Nur, a Palestinian archaeologist living in a Ramallah refugee camp, discovers a blue Israeli ID card hidden inside an old coat. Assuming the persona of “Or,” he joins an archaeological excavation in a West Bank settlement, embarking on a perilous quest to confront the colonial narrative from within. As Nur digs into the ancient history of Mary Magdalene while navigating the agonizing conflict of his borrowed identity, Bassem Khandaqji delivers a fierce, intensely poignant novel where the mask becomes both a dangerous disguise and the ultimate act of survival.
FEATURED BOOKS
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Years of Freckles
