Mother of Strangers

Set in Jaffa in 1947-51, this fable-like novel is a heartbreaking tale of young love during the beginning of the destruction of Palestine and displacement of its people.

At times darkly humorous and ironic but also profoundly moving, this novel based on a true story follows the lives of a 15-year-old engineer, Subhi, and the 13-year-old girl, Shams, he hopes one day to marry. It brings Jaffa vividly to life as a beautiful city by the sea where Jews, Palestinians and Christians lived peacefully just before it was destroyed by the 1947 UN General Assembly Resolution 181 that would partition Palestine into two states and the end of the British Mandate on May 14, 1948. At first we see the prosperous life of this cosmopolitan city on the Mediterranean-with its old cinemas, lively cafes and brothels, open air markets, a bustling port and orange groves on the hills behind-through the lives of the families of Subhi and Shams, but particularly through Subhi a gifted engineer. As the story evolves, the bombing and displacements of families begin, and we get a fascinating though dark close-up of how those who were left survived. This novel is a cinematic, though devastating account of an important moment in the history of the Middle East and portrait of city irrevocably changed.