Mornings in Jenin

A heart-wrenching, powerfully written novel, spanning three generations of a Palestinian family through love and loss, war and oppression

Never before have I read such a fascinating novel about Palestine and Israel. It affected me emotionally in a way only great novels can

A powerful and passionate insight into what many Palestinians have had to endure since the state of Israel was created. Susan Abulhawa guides us through traumatic events with anger and great tenderness too, creating unforgettable images of a world in which humanity and inhumanity, selflessness and selfishness, love and hate grow so close to each other

Abulhawa looks into the darkest crevices of lives, conflicts, horrendous injustices, and dares to shine light that can illuminate hidden worlds for us, who are too often oblivious. A major writer of our time, to read Abulhawa is to begin to understand not simply the misinformation we have received for decades about what has gone on in Palestine and the Middle East, but to come to terms with our own resistance to feeling the terror of our own fear of Truth

When we grow numb to horror, when our minds slam shut in shock and denial, sometimes a story can slip to reawaken our humanity. This is that story, never more relevant, and my heart is stronger for reading it

One of the most thought-provoking books I've read ... written with passion and honesty, and poetry

A heart-shattering novel, timeless in its truth

Abulhawa’s writing shines ... Friendship, adolescence, love: ordinary events, offset against extraordinary circumstances, make the story live

The writer’s pain – and the beauty of her prose – are very real

Powerful and moving

A powerful and sensitive narrative that encapsulates the Palestinian experience with searing honesty and moving compassion … In both its specific Palestinian content and its larger human dimension, this novel is at once a challenge to complacency and ignorance as well as an affirmation of all that is enduring and valuable in the undefeated human spirit

Heartbreaking

A classic of international literature. It’s a work of artistry, humanity, defiance and dignity that fuses impeccable storytelling, strong ideas and a sinuous mastery of language. Relevant, powerful, emotional and vivid from its initial publication, it is now an essential must-read for anyone who cares about the state of the world

This luminous novel is drawn from the lived experience of three generations ... The thread of the immense injustice which expelled Palestinians from their land and destroyed the harmony of Palestinian society based on agriculture, traditions and tightly knitted families is woven here through remarkable women, men and children

Mornings in Jenin is achingly beautiful, a modern Palestinian classic

Piercing, lyrical and unfailingly moving, [Mornings in Jenin] is the multi-generational story of a Palestinian family . . . Every character, Jewish or Palestinian, is drawn with great nuance - even tenderness - paradoxically illuminating the evils of the Zionist cause, its greed, its relentless quest for power ... a most extraordinary journey through history and human emotions

Still has a lasting impact on me. A story that I once read, and turned out to be my reality as well

An indelible family saga of resilience and humanity in the face of colonial injustice, Mornings in Jenin is as timely and urgent today as it was when it first debuted. With an eye for historical detail and a subtle grasp of emotional truth, susan abulhawa writes with integrity and grace. If you read only one novel about Palestine this year, let it be this one

Susan Abulhawa was born to Palestinian refugees of the 1967 war. Currently living in Pennsylvania with her daughter, she is a human rights activist and frequent political commentator. She is the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, an organization dedicated to upholding Palestinian children’s Right to Play. Her first novel, Mornings in Jenin , was an international bestseller, with rights sold in twenty-six languages. Along with The Blue Between Sky and Water, she is most recently the author of Against the Loveless World , a finalist for the Aspen Words Prize and winner of the 2021 Palestine Book Award and the 2021 Arab American Book Award.