A stunning and poignant tale of Palestinian culture and familial relations. This is an author to watch and a story for the ages!

Behind You is the Sea came out TODAY! 💥

I read this book in one day and it was easy to devour. Let me get straight to it.

💥 Things I Liked:

I love reading about people and families that I know little about. Especially if they come from a different part of the world. It felt timely but also sad to learn a little more about Palestinians and Palestinian Americans. Someone in the book brought their father’s dead body from Baltimore to be buried in Palestine (per their father’s wish) but all I could think of was “there wouldn’t be much to go back to today.”

There was that rawness that I appreciate that reminded me a bit of A Woman is No Man and I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter both of which I highly recommend.

I appreciated the insight on the struggles that Palestinian Americans face as they are born and raised in America. They blend in and adapt to the western culture which is hard and can be perceived negatively by their parents and grandparents. Like they are betraying Palestine. It seems like a constant battle they fight as they’re growing up when it comes to their own identity. It can create rifts in families that can last a lifetime.

💥 Things I Disliked:

I wouldn’t say I disliked this but there were a lot of POVs. We’re talking every chapter was a different person. The chapters were long and you learned a whole lot about the situation but then that was it. You did not get to go back and find out what happened next except maybe with couple of the people. I wondered why did we have to learn about so many different people. I had to think back and make sure I knew who I was reading about. However, I ended up wondering if this was done on purpose. Maybe it was to show that the Palestinian community is small but they stay together and when they are together, it’s a very complex group of people.

Rating: 4/5

Would I recommend? Yes

An excellent collection of interconnected stories set in a Palestinian American community in Baltimore. This book is described as a novel but I think a novel-in-stories is more accurate. Although the stories are strongly linked through the characters, each story also holds up on its own (IMHO). Highly recommend for your 2024 reading list!

If you are looking for stories set in Palestine, I recommend the author's previous collection A CURIOUS LAND. I also enjoyed that book, but I think this one was better. :) Why not read both?

I selected this book to read as I am trying to read more by Arab authors. This is a collection of stories with Palestinian characters living in the US. The characters are all connected to the same community but their stories are their own. As you read the stories, you experience the passage of time as characters from one story appear in others. The stories deal with loss/heartbreak, assimilation (or lack of) from an immigrant point of view, and specifically from the Palestinian perspective. My only criticism of this novel is that it is mainly from a non-Muslim perspective. Palestinians are comprised of several religious backgrounds and I would have liked to see that in this collection.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperVia for a digital review copy of this book. It is set to be published on 1/16/2024

Wow I absolutely loved this interwoven short story collection. It was beautifully written and I was fully drawn into each character’s life and story as they faced challenges/turning points - some unique to their identity as Palestinian Americans and others universally human. Highly recommend!

This was such a beautifully written, enthralling story. The multitude of characters was layered so beautifully. It was not difficult to keep up with all the characters. It was a gorgeous tapestry of stories, all woven together.

Behind You Is The Sea follows a few different Palestinian immigrant families over time as they grow and change and weaves them together in a way that feels seamless in which many authors would fail to do so. I really appreciated how beautifully it is written and that the prose mirrors the lyrical, poetic Arabic language. Language is of course brought up many times in the book and serves as a lovely reminder that at their core, the Arab people find beauty and hope in the things that are usually looked past for their mundanity. I was excited to read this book and it could not have come at a better time. It was a quick, pleasing book to read. It has been noted by other reviewers that there are harmful sentiments and stereotypes portrayed in this book, obviously I can not ignore that. I believe Behind You Is The Sea has some beautiful writing and hope it serves to continue to help amplify the voices of Palestinians, as we all know how necessary that is now. 🍉 Thank you HarperVia and NetGalley for this ARC!!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Susan Muaddi Darraj, and HarperVia for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was an absolutely beautiful read. I'm shocked to learn that Behind You is the Sea is Darraj's debut because it reads like a seasoned artist. One of my goals for this year is to diversify my reading even more than I have been, and I found it important to intentionally read a book by a Palestinian author to start the new year. I'm so glad that I did because this book will stick with me for a while to come. It is written in a lovely format with each chapter serving as a short story from the perspective of a different character, yet the book is overarchingly connected, as each character is related to each other through 3 different families that it follows. I hesitate to even specify a favorite chapter/character/story, but I really enjoyed getting to see Samira in a couple of different stories. I learned a lot about different aspects of Palestinian American culture through this book, and I enjoyed that Darraj didn't shy away from complicated family dynamics. I would rate this book a 4.5 but ended up rounding down simply because it was so short. I think the book would have benefitted from being a little bit longer and having things tied together a bit more to make it more of a cohesive story rather than a short story collection. However, it didn't detract from the read whatsoever, and I look forward to explore Darraj's work in the future.

pretty great! i liked the writing though felt it should have been a little bit longer. thanks for the arc!

Behind You is the Sea is a book about three Palestinian families residing in Baltimore. While reading this book, I learned about the vast size of Palestinian families and how every member is related to one another.

I read this book so quickly that I finished it in less than 24 hours. As I mentioned before, there are three large families involved, so there are many characters to keep track of. However, what sets this book apart is that each chapter focuses on different characters from different families. It’s not confusing because I don't need to remember all the names; I can connect the dots as I read the stories.

Compared to A Woman is No Man and Evil Eye - the two books I have read and liked, which also talk about the Palestinian family saga - this book is less intense, probably because the story changes in every chapter. It feels more like a collection of short stories. Nonetheless, it still discusses Palestinian culture (weddings, funerals, day-to-day habits), their past and trauma due to occupation, and their lives after moving to America. Therefore, it can be a good choice for people learning about Palestine.

(TLDR, if you’re serious about understanding the Palestinian struggle but find a whole book too daunting, this book is packaged into smaller, easily digestible themes. There’s no excuse for avoiding it because “the book is too heavy” or “too political”. It’s time to step up and read about marginalized family stories, which is no different).

I feel a bit silly for mentioning this because they don’t need to prove anything, but I want to share that this book offers a perspective from Christian Palestinians. I’ve noticed that some people try to erase their existence, so it’s important to acknowledge the spaces where they can tell their stories. They attend Church and celebrate Christmas, just as you do.

this was an interesting collection of people’s stories based on living in baltimore as a palestinian. i think it was cool how much connection there was between all the different characters and it was really cool to learn about a culture i admit that i am not well-read in. thank you so much for the ARC of this book!

This is a collection of heartwarming and at times heart-wrenching interconnected stories. The stories revolve around three Palestinian families living in modern day Baltimore America - the Baladis, the Ammars and the Salemahs. The patriarchs of the families emigrated several decades ago and their children have been born and raised in America albeit with a strong Palestinian norms and cultural influences. They struggle to reconcile the stark contrasts between the two cultures. While the adults seem bent on enforcing conservative attitudes and lifestyle, the children have naturally grown up with liberated American views. While the Ammars come from a position of wealth, the Salemahs are relatively middle class and the Baladis struggle to make ends meet. The stories deal with a host of contemporary adolescent issues like teen-pregnancy, eating disorders, racial typecasting and also marital ones like domestic violence. This one is for you if you are a fan of short stories with a multicultural flair. It is a beautiful exploration of the immigrant experience and the constant struggle to fit in. The characters are pretty well developed despite the shortness of the narrative and I wish it had been one long tale. This is a debut novel by the author and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from her.

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Via and Susan Muaddi Darraj for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and Harpevia for the arch e-copy!

This is a very quick and explorative fiction read about Palestinian peoples living in America. Set in an American town all the characters live very different lives from each other. We see the way the community sees and reacts with each one. I did really enjoy this year. If you like reading fiction and love drama this is the book for you. Each chapter is about the different people and that left me confused at times trying to remember who each person was in relation to another when jumping into their daily lives. I wish this book would have been longer and the reader could have read a bit about each person's background as well as after their "chapter". I do not mind the amount of characters in books, but personally when it comes to trying to understand a story and overall meaning of a story, I need to understand who each character is and how they play an important part to the story. I love reading books with character's background and character development and how they play an important part to the plot.
I do recommend this story and I hope it is read by lots of people this year!

Behind You is the Sea is an interesting narrative that follows a Palestinian community living in Baltimore using short vignettes. The stories weave together to form a timeline. I found myself rooting for the characters and looking forward to catching glimpses of them though others' perspectives. The author does a good job of describing some of the feelings that characters have living in a small community within a big city where everyone knows your business. I appreciated the (fictionalized) look into being a first generation American with a strong Arab cultural identity and how the characters navigate those two perspectives. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Compelling, interconnected stories about Palestinian exiles living in Baltimore. Each character was so fascinating that I wanted the book to keep going and exploring their connections.

thank you @netgalley and @harpervia for the early review copy!

there were parts of this book that were really beautiful. i loved how the author wove together interconnected stories of the members of 3 different families. how each felt like a short story, but also a continuation. how the reader is exposed to various ways that Palestinian immigrants might experience america. the beautiful storytelling.

but there were also some problematic components that made my experience with this book difficult, including Arab stereotypes, misogyny and the glorification of policing

An intimate look at a Palestinian community in Baltimore.Each story is interconnected we meet friends family lovers friends.We brought into their daily lives traditions issues,I was totally involved from story to story.#netgalley #harpervia

Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Behind you is the sea, before you, the enemy. You have left now only the hope of your courage and your constancy."

While this was said hundreds of years ago by an Islamic General invading Spain, the characters in Susan Muaddi Darraj's debut novel draw from it in times of struggle, in search of hope.

We're introduced to an array of characters from three interconnected Palestinian families, spanning multiple generations -- each impacted by the complicated history of their ancestral homeland. Every chapter finds its own narrator and sheds light on the complicated journey through life in the United States as an immigrant or the children of immigrants. The characters meet and turn on their head many common stereotypes of Arab immigrants as they live through love, loss and generational trauma.

Throughout each story, Palestine looms large, a silent but ever present character in the background. It's clear each person has a different relationship to where they've come from as well as where they've ended up. This is particularly true as we navigate the difficult relationships between the elder generations, who lived through the Nakba or left their home in Palestine, and the younger generations who were born abroad and for whom "home" is a story, a shadow.

The power of this novel lies in the author's ability to paint each character with a depth that many other authors only find in hundreds of pages. I fell in love, had my heart broken and pieced it all back together in every chapter. And while I would sincerely love to read an entire book about every character (particularly Samira, oh my gosh), I never felt cheated by the brevity of their stories. Each character was complete, whole and so unique in how their experiences colored who they turned out to be. Muaddi Darraj makes it so very clear what Arab-Americans (and Palestinians in particular) have been trying to tell us for a long time; they may share many things but they cannot be painted as one. They contain multitudes.

While this book was penned before the most recent atrocities (read: Genocide) in Palestine, it's voice remains the same. I imagine the complexities have only deepened, as has the pain and trauma. While we watch the bombs fall on Gaza in real time, it's sometimes hard to imagine what our Palestinian-American brothers and sisters may be experiencing as they watch from afar. I'm grateful for storytellers in these moments to help people like me gain some insight, some new empathy.

After all, sometimes all we have left is the hope of courage and constancy.

Beautifully written and an eye opener on the Palestinian diaspora.
It's like getting an intimate look at what is going on in a family, though in this case there are multiple families and characters that are loosely tied together. I found the format a little confusing at first and I wanted to know more about what happened to each character. But all in all there was a lot of detail and description and the writing really was exquisite. It is the kind of book that you finish reading and immediately want to go back and read it again to make sure you caught everything and to make even more connections.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I look forward to more from this author.

Following the diverse residents of a Palestinian-American community in Baltimore, SEA explores the inner psyches of those young and old, rich and poor, and the intertwined lives of the Palestinian diaspora across generation, class, and religion.

Books with shifting POVs sometimes risk writing superficial characters. That's why I was pleasantly surprised by Darraj's craft of writing profoundly flawed characters with rich inner workings, all achieved in short chapters. SEA centers around Palestinian & Palestinian-American women, who are often the victims of misogyny, lack the social & familial support to succeed, and suffer greatly from their male relatives' neglect/abuse.

What I love most about SEA is its centering on a diverse cast of Palestinians & Palestinian Americans without falling into overwritten tropes of immigrant struggles and its exploration of the "American Dream." Each chapter explores a different angle of the American experience, from poverty, teenage pregnancy, eating disorders, marital issues, to microaggressions in high school. SEA reaches the crescendo with its last story following a son's return from America to Palestine.

Don't miss this moving debut for fans of CALLING FOR A BLANKET DANCE (Oscar Hokeah) or EVIL EYE (Etaf Rum) 💙

Some chapters I particularly loved are,

• Behind you is the Sea: a house cleaner starts working for a wealthy Palestinian American family, only to realize "your own kind is often the worst." I love the emphasis that a "community" is often defined by socioeconomic status rather than one's ethnicity/country of origin.

• Gyroscopes: a high school kid tries to vocalize her unease with the school play Aladdin because of its harmful stereotypes of Arabs. I particularly appreciated the juxtaposition of the FMC's cousin's nonchalance and the mom's wise words.

• Worry Beads: an attorney realizes her father has dementia while she struggles to reconcile the violence she faced from past and present. Stories about ailing parents always give me the feels, and this one is no different.

• Escorting the Body: a son wants to honor his father's dying wish of being buried in Palestine. Reminiscent of AGAINST THE LOVELESS WORLD (Susan Abulhawa), this story touches upon the discrimination Palestinians faced and the beauty of a community.

I've seen some ownvoice reviews mentioning all the stereotypes that paint Arabic men in a terrible light and seem to cater to a Western audience. My lack of awareness while reading SEA speaks more to my ignorance of ownvoice literature by & about Arabs. I still strongly recommend that everyone pick up SEA, but please also read others' reviews afterward.