Against the Loveless World

'A thrilling, defiant novel' Fatima Bhutto
'A masterpiece' Marc Lamont Hill
'Wonderful ... Shines a ray of hope into some very dark places' Michael Palin
'A fearless work of imagination' Ahdaf Soueif

Winner of the Palestine Book Award

Nahr has been confined to the Cube: nine square metres of glossy grey cinderblock, devoid of time, its patterns of light and dark nothing to do with day and night. Journalists visit her, but get nowhere; because Nahr is not going to share her story with them.

The world outside calls Nahr a terrorist, and a whore; some might call her a revolutionary, or a hero. But the truth is, Nahr has always been many things, and had many names.

She was a girl who learned, early and painfully, that when you are a second class citizen love is a kind of desperation; she learned, above all else, to survive.

She was a girl who went to Palestine in the wrong shoes, and without looking for it found what she had always lacked in the basement of a battered beauty parlour: purpose, politics, friends. She found a dark-eyed man called Bilal, who taught her to resist; who tried to save her when it was already too late.

Nahr sits in the Cube, and tells her story to Bilal. Bilal, who isn't there; Bilal, who may not even be alive, but who is her only reason to get out.

About the Author

Susan Abulhawa is a human rights activist, a biologist, and political commentator. She is the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, a children’s organisation dedicated to upholding The Right to Play for Palestinian children. Her debut novel, Mornings in Jenin, was an international bestseller, translated into 26 languages. She lives in Pennsylvania with her daughter and their beloved dogs. @sjabulhawa