‘In this immensely readable novel, Ms. Azem does not resolve for us the calamity of Palestine's occupation by Israel. But stylishly and with jeweled virtuosity she makes us understand that acts of great and humane imagination will be required, and with this potent book points where and how we must all go.’ Richard Ford
Alaa is haunted by his grandmother’s memories of being displaced from Jaffa and becoming a refugee in her homeland after the Nakba. Ariel, Alaa’s neighbour and friend, is a liberal Zionist, critical of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet faithful to the project of Israel. When he wakes up one morning to find that all Palestinians have suddenly vanished, Ariel begins searching for clues to the secret of their collective disappearance.
That search, and Ariel’s reactions to it, intimately reveal the fissures at the heart of the Palestinian question. Between the stories of Alaa and Ariel are the people of Jaffa and Tel Aviv – café patrons, radio commentators, flower-cutters – against whose ordinary lives these fissures and questions play out.
Critically acclaimed in Arabic, spare yet evocative, intensely intelligent in its interplay of perspectives, The Book of Disappearance is an unforgettable glimpse into contemporary Palestine as it grapples with both the memory of loss and the loss of memory.
‘With deftness and layered knowledge, Ibtisam Azem pulls off a daring and inventive conceit, a spooky, witty novel that captures the paranoia of the usurper and the loneliness of those who survive to tell their tales. This is a definite winner which speaks directly to our anguish over Palestine.’ Leila Aboulela
‘Brilliant and Audacious’ Kamila Shamsie
‘Immensely readable . . . Azem does not resolve for us the calamity of Palestine's occupation by Israel. But stylishly and with jewelled virtuosity she makes us understand that acts of great and humane imagination will be required, and with this potent book points where and how we must all go.' Richard Ford
'Using a magical realism as cool and lacerating as that of Borges, Azem builds the story of a young Israeli journalist and his vanished Palestinian friend into a devastating exploration of the nakbah, betrayal, erasure, and love of home. For lovers of Palestinian literature, The Book of Disappearance has earned its place beside Saher Khalifa's Wild Thorns, and thanks to Sinan Antoon's masterful translation, Anglophone readers can now experience this thrilling, essential work.' Molly Crabapple
'In Jaffa, the most lively presence is that of the dead. Ibtisam Azem has gifted us with a poignant, mysterious, lyrical, new novel.' Ahdaf Soueif
'Unquestionably powerful.' Words Without Borders
'A wonderful book, showing … what the Palestinians have suffered and continue to suffer.' The Modern Novel
'A masterpiece which immediately leads the reader to ponder the historical foundations of the 1948 Nakba, as well as the Zionist intentions and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the land where they belong.' Middle East Monitor
‘An urgent and compelling novel … Brilliantly conceived and searingly executed’ Claire Messud
‘A book of prophecy. A book of reckoning. A book of gut-wrenching monstrosities and of profound tenderness. In this study of grief and love, state violence and wild self-delusions, Azem fearlessly looks into the void and calls out both its causes, its costs, and its lasting effects. The Book of Disappearance is a heartbreaking, awe-inspiring, genre-defying achievement.’ Preti Taneja
‘A beloved and important novel.’ Omar Robert Hamilton
‘This is an extraordinary novel, full of heartache, longing and love for Palestine, its immensely absorbing fantasy shining a dazzling light on the most important story of our time. Azem’s writing is magnetic – I loved every page of this unforgettable book.’ Mirza Waheed
About the Author
Ibtisam Azem is a Palestinian novelist, short story writer, and journalist based in New York. She has published two novels in Arabic: The Sleep Thief (2011) and The Book of Disappearance (2014). Her first short story collection, I Wish I Were a Hoopoe, is forthcoming in Arabic in the summer of 2024. The Book of Disappearance has been translated into English, Italian, and German. Azem holds an MA in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies with minors in German and English Literature from Freiburg University, as well as an MA in Social Work from NYU.
Sinan Antoon is a poet, novelist, and translator. He holds degrees from Baghdad, Georgetown, and Harvard, where he specialized in Arabic literature. He has published five novels and three poetry collections. His most recent work is Postcards from the Underworld (Seagull 2023). His translation of Mahmoud Darwish’s In the Presence of Absence won the 2012 American Literary Translators’ Award. He is an associate professor at New York University.
