Mother of Strangers: A Novel

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Set in Jaffa in between 1947 and 1951, this "fable-like historical novel of young love ... darkly humorous and touching" (Oprah Daily) is based on a true story during the beginning of the destruction of Palestine and displacement of its people. Based on the true story of two Jaffa teenagers, Mother of Strangers follows the daily lives of Subhi, a fifteen-year-old mechanic, and Shams, the thirteen-year-old student he hopes to marry one day. In this prosperous and cosmopolitan port city, with its bustling markets, cinemas, and cafes on the hills overlooking the Mediter-ranean Sea, we meet many other unforgettable charac-ters as well, including Khawaja Michael, the elegant and successful owner of orange groves above the harbor; Mr. Hassan, the tailor who makes Subhi's treasured English suit, which he hopes will change his life; and the very mischievous and outrageous Uncle Habeeb, who insists on introducing Subhi to the local bordello. With a thriving orange export business, Jaffa had always been a city welcoming to outsiders-the "Mother of Strangers"-where Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived peacefully together. Once the bombardment of the city begins in April 1948, Suad Amiry gives us the grim but fascinating details of the shock, panic, and destruc-tion that ensues. Jaffa becomes unrecognizable, with neighborhoods flattened, families removed from their homes and separated, and those who remain in constant danger of arrest and incarceration. Most of the popula-tion flees eastward to Jordan or by sea to Lebanon in the north or to Egypt and Gaza in the south. Subhi and Shams will never see each other again. Suad Amiry has written a vivid and devastating ac-count of a seminal moment in the history of the Middle East-the beginning of the end of Palestine and a por-trait of a city irrevocably changed.

Reviews

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR from NPR

A captivating novel about love amid warfare . . . a story as sobering as it is entertaining.
The Hudson Review

Toward the beginning of this novel, Subhi the best mechanic in town, despite being only 15 is called to fix the well of a local citrus magnate. When he arrives at the grove, he is taken aback by how different the city of Jaffa looks from way up high; how seeing it from this vantage point must affect ones hopes, fears, politics and loyalties. That sense of perspective-shifting carries throughout the book. The characters force readers to think about how our desires change when our settings do and how expansive (or limited) our sense of reality might be.
Books We Love 2022, NPR

[A] moving story. . . . Mother of Strangers describes the price paid in human lives when exclusivist states are created violently. Middle East Books Review

[Mother of Strangers] invites readers to consider the human cost of the ongoing, tragic conflict in the Middle East. As always, the past is not past.
Washington Independent Review of Books

Based on a true story, Mother of Strangers is a fable-like historical novel of young love . . . Darkly humorous and touching . . . Were shown this entire messy, glorious universe that existed before war rained down.
Oprah Daily

A powerful story of love, loss, and the destruction of a nation.
Booklist, starred review

Stirring . . . achingly alive . . . Amirys eye-opening story will keep readers turning the pages.
Publishers Weekly

I was bedazzled by Mother of Strangers. How extraordinarily brave to weave a story about the destruction of ones city, the displacement of familyseparating lovers young and oldand the beginning of the end ofPalestine. I loved that Suad Amiry based her novel on a true story. I loved the humor as I clutched my heart.
Hanan al Shaykh, author of Beirut Blues

Mother Of Strangers is a passionate and a deeply moving story of the price Palestinians paid for the creation of Israel.
Michael Palin, author, actor, and member of Monty Python

Author Bio

SUAD AMIRY is a writer and an architect. She is the author of six works of nonfiction, including Sharon and My Mother-in-Law, which was awarded the Viareggio-Versilia International Prize in 2004, and Golda Slept Here, which was awarded the Nonino Risit d'Aur Prize in 2014. Amiry received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and is the founder of the RIWAQ Centre for Architectural Conservation in Ramallah, where she lives.