WINNER OF THE RSL ENCORE AWARD 2024

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024

Reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir finds love and hope in Shakespeare and Palestine.

‘I absolutely loved it’
MONICA ALI

’Remarkable… My heart will never be the same’
BARBARA KINGSOLVER

‘Moving and unforgettable’
SALLY ROONEY

After years away from her family’s homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. On her arrival, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.

When Sonia meets the charismatic Mariam, a local director, she joins a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing with a dedicated, if competitive, group of men – yet as opening night draws closer, it becomes clear just how many obstacles stand before the troupe. Amidst it all, the life she once knew starts to give way to the exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.

‘A vital storyteller’
ALI SMITH

‘A novel to savour’
SUNDAY TIMES

‘Spectacular’
NAOMI KLEIN

‘Captivating…deeply moving’
HARPER’S BAZAAR

‘Powerful… Hammad is a pretty flawless writer’
THE TIMES

A GRANTA BEST YOUNG BRITISH NOVELIST

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2024

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BOWKER PRIZE 2024

* A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST AND VULTURE *