Out Of Place: A Memoir

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Description

Edward W. Said, author of the ground-breaking Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism, was born in 1935 in a country which no longer exists - Palestine. His memoir of growing up between nations, cultures and two extraordinary parents is now available in paperback. 'An intensely moving act of reclamation and understanding . . . To read it is to come to know his family and his younger self as closely as we know characters in literature, and to be shown, intimately and unforgettably, what it has meant in the last half-century to be a Palestinian.' SALMAN RUSHDIE 'I know I shall not read a work to match this one this year, or for many years.' NADINE GORDIMER 'Vividly portrayed in this work is Edward Said's path to self-realization, making him one of this fin-de-siecle's most indispensable intellectuals.' KENZABURO OE 'A major work of art: the great literary statement at which his previous books had only hinted.' Independent 'A fascinating book written by a gifted, brave man.' Sunday Telegraph 'Fine and beautifully written . . . a Palestinian Proust.' Independent on Sunday

Reviews

Edward Said is among the truly important intellectuals of our century. His examined life, from the tragic and triumphant perspective of a mortal illness, is superbly worth living. I know I shall not read an autobiography to match this one for many years -- Nadine Gordimer
Said is capable of writing like a gifted novelist, like a Palestinian Proust * Independent on Sunday *
Out of Place recreates the sights and sounds, the smells and shouts, of a lost world, as Gunter Grass did for Danzig or Joyce for turn-of-the-century Dublin ... One of the greatest cities of our age has produced a work of art, one of the noblest autobiographies of our time * Irish Times *
A fine elegy and a scrupulous reckoning with the past -- Marina Warner, Books of the Year * Daily Telegraph *
This delicate and candid memoir by a very private man moved me enormously. Written in "counterpoint" to his illness (leukaemia) at times when he was recovering from chemotherapy, its importance may be measured by the ferocity of the public attempt which preceded and accompanied publication to discredit him as an authentic Palestinian voice -- Ahdaf Soueif
Out of Place is an intensely moving act of reclamation and understanding, a portrait of a transcultural and often painful upbringing written with wonderful vividness and unsparing honesty. To read it is to come to know [Said's] family and his younger self as closely as we know characters in literature, to be shown, intimately and unforgettably, what it has meant in the last half-century to be a Palestinian -- Salman Rushdie

Author Bio

Edward W. Said was one of the world's most influential intellectuals and the most eloquent spokesperson for the Palestinian cause in the West. Granta Books also published his collection of essays The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After as well as his other works, including Beginnings and Reflections on Exile. He lived in New York and died in September 2003.