Atef Abu Saif

At Crossing Border, Atef Abu Saif (Pal) will be in conversation about his novel A suspended life.

He is a historian and former Palestinian Minister of Culture. He is the author of novels, plays, non-fiction, and diaries. A suspended life (2014) was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

About A suspended life:
When Na’iem opens his copy shop in Gaza one morning, where he is always asked to print posters of young “martyrs’’, he is killed by a bullet. His son Saliem returns from abroad and finds himself in a heated debate with his cousin over whether Na’iem is a hero or a victim of an Israeli sniper, as people on the street claim. The question sparks a profound discussion about heroism and the myths surrounding it, about the Palestinian past and present, and about staying or leaving. Around Saliem, the stories of his old friends unfold: some choose resistance, others pursue careers in the media machine Gaza has become, or dream of life abroad. Still others are not afraid to use violence in the name of faith. Their stories take us from literary evenings in cafés to prisons, from underground tunnels to grassroots protest movements.

A suspended life is a compelling family story set in the heart of Gaza City, with all its Mediterranean flair and its political and social contradictions.