Recognizing the Stranger

From the award-winning novelist of The Parisian and Enter Ghost, comes an engaging, readable and profound essay and new afterword on the Palestinian story in the context of literature and history.

Award-winning author of The Parisian and Enter Ghost, Isabella Hammad, delivered the Edward W. Said Lecture at Columbia University nine days before October 7th, 2023. The text of Hammad's seminal speech and her afterword written in the early weeks of 2024 together make up a passionate appraisal of the Israel-Palestine war and a moment that, even at present, feels like a turning point in the narrative of human history. Moving and erudite, Hammad writes from within the moment, giving voice to the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Recognizing the Stranger is a brilliant melding of literary and cultural analysis by one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.