Photo Courtesy of Daniel Vasta
Praise for BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA (HarperVia, 2024)
“Lively and enlightening.” – People
“Darraj writes with great emotional resonance about hope and disappointment.” – The New Yorker (Best of 2024 so far)
“Marvelous and moving.” – Booklist (starred review)
“Draws a composite portrait of Palestinian American families with sensitivity and humor…breaking down stereotypes and embracing complexity” – The New York Times
“Not the Arabian Nights, but a new Arabian Days for our time, the intricately interlocked stories of Behind You Is the Sea bring us richly detailed news of the Palestinian immigrant experience in America.” — Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising, Child of Light: A Biography of Robert Stone, and Behind the Moon
“Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Behind You is the Sea is a powerful and moving novel about the lives of Palestinian immigrants. Told in rich, lush prose, this propulsive and beautiful novel will stay with me for a long time. I loved it.” — Brandon Hobson, National Book Award finalist and author of The Removed
“A must read novel with unforgettable characters and an unwavering, fresh voice—I couldn’t put it down until the very last page! Darraj delivers an instant, necessary, and authentic classic to the cannon of Arab-American literature.” — Etaf Rum, A Woman Is No Man
“Behind You Is The Sea is a spellbinding, complexly simple examination of family, culture, and what it means to exist, what it means to be seen, and what it takes to make invisible visible. This novel will capture your heart and mind.” –Morgan Talty, award-winning author of Night of the Living Rez
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What People Are Saying
A Curious Land
“These linked stories about the people of the village of Tel al-Hilou, and their descendants in today’s United States of America, span over a century. The author’s empathy for the large cast of embattled characters is miraculous. In particular, we get to know the quietly heroic Palestinian women in these stories as intimately as we know the people closest to us. Astonishingly, this collection is, above all, about the transformative powers of love.” — Jaime Manrique, author of Our Lives Are the Rivers
The Inheritance of Exile
“This sweet, sorrowful book is rich with insight. The Inheritance of Exile tells an authentic story of Arab-American life-these characters are true, expressive, and moving. A fully engaging, satisfying collection indeed.” — Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Origin, Crescent, and The Language of Baklava
Farah Rocks
“Darraj introduces smart, courageous, and sensitive Farah Hajjar, a fifth-grader whose biggest concern should be deciding on a topic for her application essay at the Magnet Academy. […] Farah is a well-rounded character with ambitions and struggles; readers will identify with her challenges and root for her to succeed. A first purchase for upper elementary readers.” — School Library Journal
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