Details

ISBN-10: 1646051408
ISBN-13: 9781646051403
Publisher: Deep Vellum Publishing
Publish Date: 03/29/2022
Dimensions: 7.90" L, 4.90" W, 0.70" H

Palestine +100: Stories from a Century After the Nakba

Paperback

Price: $15.95

Overview

Palestine + 100 poses a question to twelve Palestinian writers: what might your country look like in the year 2048 – a century after the tragedies and trauma of what has come to be called the Nakba? How might this event – which, in 1948, saw the expulsion of over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs from their homes – reach across a century of occupation, oppression, and political isolation, to shape the country and its people? Will a lasting peace finally have been reached, or will future technology only amplify the suffering and mistreatment of Palestinians?

Covering a range of approaches – from SF noir, to nightmarish dystopia, to high-tech farce – these stories use the blank canvas of the future to reimagine the Palestinian experience today. Along the way, we encounter drone swarms, digital uprisings, time-bending VR, and peace treaties that span parallel universes. Published originally in the United Kingdom by Comma Press in 2019, Palestine +100 reframes science fiction as a place for political justice and the safekeeping of identity.

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Reviews

"It's necessary, of course. But above all it's bold, brilliant and inspiring: a sign of boundless imagination and fierce creation even in circumstances of oppression, denial, silencing and constriction. The voices of these writers demand to be heard - and their stories are defiantly entertaining." -Bidisha

One of NPR's Favourite Books of 2019
One of The New Arab's Best Books by Arab authors 2019
One of PopMatter's Best Books of 2019
One of the 50 Books to Watch in 2019 by the Irish Times
One of TranslatedLit's Most Anticipated Books for July 2019

"Themes of nostalgia, memory and longing weave through this fascinating and unusual collection." -The Financial Times
"Palestine +100 gives the pleasure of a collection whose entries engage in conversation: about absence, borders and belonging." -The TLS
"This rich and varied anthology offers thoughtful insight into the hopes, fears and traumas of people whose suffering has been wilfully ignored by the mainstream media for decades. It's also a timely and entertaining reminder of the potential of SF as a literature that reframes perceptions and challenges assumptions." -Morning Star
"I must admit, sci-fi isn't really for me but I loved the premise of this short story collection [...] Really enjoyed reading it. Also can we appreciate that Palestine +100 is groundbreaking..." -Elias Jahshan
"This book is not a happy read, but it's one that complicates our worldview, undermines our certainty and unravels our righteousness. We need more literature like this." -Tor.com
"I do know that as difficult as this book was for me to read, I'd do it again and again." -NPR
"There is no shortage of irony of cleverness in this collection. If anything, Palestinians have become experts in the deployment of these devices." -Ceasefire Magazine
"The authors offer moments of insight and humor that suggest if nothing is certain about the future of Palestine, at least everything is possible." -World Literature Today
"It's refreshing to read a sci-fi anthology based on Palestine. The topic alone makes it unique and worth the read." -Electronic Intifada
"If, as Ghalayini writes, Palestinian writers are unused to the sci-fi genre, then there are no missteps in this accomplished volume. This worthy collection excavates and probes, and reacquaints the west with the horrors of Palestinian existence right now." -Middle East Eye
"A richly imaginative collection not merely in the traditional sci-fi vein of imagining possible futures, but in weaving powerful messages about our present in and through these futuristic imaginings. [...] a deeply rewarding addition to the global sci-fi canon." -PopMatters
"A fascinating anthology." -The National
"Just as we do when Handmaid's Tale or Black Mirror plots unfold on the screen, you are most likely to read Palestine +100 and say, this is now." -Literary Hub
"To forget is a sin in these futuristic tales." -Arab News
"By the time the last page is turned, the reader instinctively withdraws to reflect on 1948 to realise, just as Palestinians do, that chronology in colonisation becomes an abstract concept when compared to the trajectories of Palestinian memory and the power of contemplation for change." -The New Arab
"The uniqueness of their different visions speaks to both their skills as established writers and to the inherently uncertain nature of a Palestinian future." -Mangal Media
"Every story in Palestine +100 is a gem that evokes feelings of suspense, excitement, horror and nostalgia... The talented writers have created futuristic stories with emotional and intellectual resonance." -The Levant
"I had a feeling the book would be unique. I wasn't expecting to be blind-sided... For all the sorrow and intensity influencing the stories, this is a positive read. You grow as a reader and as a person because of it." -The Future Fire
"Palestine +100 will not bring justice for the Palestinian people. At least, not by itself, but it's part of something vitally important: it serves as a reminder that they are still there, still fighting, still angry, lost, and full of burning... it's a call, a roar, a celebration of the artistic and literary power of Palestine." -Books and Bao
"The best science fiction, as Ursula Le Guin once noted, is not predictive but descriptive - less a rationalist mapping of the future than a slanted mirror which defamiliarises the present. This is exactly what these stories - populated by drone swarms, digital uprisings and the ghosts of the not-yet-dead - accomplish. Palestine +100 adopts sci-fi not as escapism, but as a new set of metaphors with which to engage the present political realities of occupied Palestine, and it's people's urgent desire for freedom and justice." -TANK Magazine
"It's a rich tapestry for science fiction, not as a form of escape from the current struggle for liberation, but as a new method of reclaiming our narrative and thinking through our struggle." -Saleem Haddad at Open Democracy
"A thought-provoking and inspiring book." -Sabotage Reviews

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Details

ISBN-10: 1646051408
ISBN-13: 9781646051403
Publisher: Deep Vellum Publishing
Publish Date: 03/29/2022
Dimensions: 7.90" L, 4.90" W, 0.70" H
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