FRACTURED DESTINIES BY. Rabai al-Madhoun TRANS. Paul Starkey

Palestinian–Armenian Ivana eloped with a British doctor in the 1940s, in the midst of the Nakba, and emigrated to England. Over half a century later, her daughter Julie has been tasked with Ivana’s dying wish: to take her ashes back to their old home in Acre. She and her husband Walid leave London and embark on a journey to Palestine.

Written in four parts, each as a concerto movement, Rabai al-Madhoun’s pioneering new novel explores Palestinian exile, with all its complex loyalties and identities. Broad in scope and sweeping in its history, it lays bare the tragedy of everyday Palestinian life.

REVIEWS

"[Fractured Destinies] invents a new fictional form . . . [and] can be considered the complete Palestinian novel."
—Amina Thiban, chair of the panel of judges for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2016