Behind You Is the Sea

I was introduced to Susan Muaddi Darraj’s new novel Behind You Is The Sea, a collection of inner-related stories, at a public event where I bought the book and was quickly drawn into the world of the multi-generational Palestinian immigrant families living in Baltimore. As I read Darraj’s family dramas, I found myself remembering another novel, also structured as interlocking stories about families in love and in conflict, these set in a 1950s fictional Kibbutz Yekhat in Israel. The connection with Amos Oz’s Between Friends was not just the narrative structures, but the humanity of the characters and the relations… show more.

I had the pleasure of studying with Susan Muaddi Darraj during my master’s program, and her latest work is an incredible exploration of the immigrant experience, especially for Palestinian Americans. This book centers on the personal experience of families living in Baltimore, spanning generations, as they confront the dislocation and identity crises that come from living between two worlds. Darraj’s portrayal of exile and the trauma of displacement feels especially poignant given our current global crises, where the concept of “home” is increasingly complicated for so many.

What resonates with me most is the way Darraj explores both the personal… show more.