“The Blue Between Sky and Water” by Susan Abulhawa is a captivating novel that follows a Palestinian family that had to leave their native village and move to Gaza in 1948. The family then separates, as some stay in Gaza - “the largest open-air prison in the world,” in Abulhawa’s words - and others escape and end up in the US. The first part of the novel follows those who settled in Gaza, shedding light on their struggles and resilience. In the second part, we follow an American-born descendant of this family who decides to return to Gaza - a decision that will leave her struggling with questions of identity and belonging. Abulhawa’s lyrical prose and deep empathy for her characters make this novel a testimony to the strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of hope.

It is 1947, and Beit Daras, a rural Palestinian village, is home to the Baraka family – oldest daughter Nazmiyeh, brother Mamdouh, beautiful, dreamy Mariam and their widowed mother. When Israeli forces descend, sending the village up in flames, the family must take the long road to Gaza, in a walk that will test them to their limits.

Sixty years later, in America, Mamdouh's granddaughter Nur falls in love with a doctor. Following him to his work in Gaza, she meets Alwan, who will help Nur discover the ties of kinship that transcend distance – and even death.

Told with raw humanity, The Blue Between Sky and Water is a lyrical, devastatingly beautiful story of a family's relocation, separation, survival and love.

'The story Susan Abulhawa tells in this marvellous novel is hard to bear but impossible to ignore ... precise, courageous, and dazzling' Teju Cole

'Gripping and deeply moving … Suffering and resilience are difficult things to witness, but this powerful, politically engaged novel does so with a transformative literary grace.' Independent on Sunday

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