Description

Longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize

Alaa is haunted by his grandmother’s memories of being displaced from Jaffa and becoming a refugee in her homeland after the Nakba. Ariel, Alaa’s neighbour and friend, is a liberal Zionist, critical of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet faithful to the project of Israel. When he wakes up one morning to find that all Palestinians have suddenly vanished, Ariel begins searching for clues to the secret of their collective disappearance.

That search, and Ariel’s reactions to it, intimately reveal the fissures at the heart of the Palestinian question. Between the stories of Alaa and Ariel are the people of Jaffa and Tel Aviv – cafe patrons, radio commentators, flower-cutters – against whose ordinary lives these fissures and questions play out.

‘Speculative and haunting, this is an exceptional exercise in memory-making and psycho-geography’ The International Booker Prize 2025 Judges

Publisher Review

'Unquestionably powerful.' Words Without Borders 'A wonderful book, showing ... what the Palestinians have suffered and continue to suffer.' The Modern Novel 'A masterpiece which immediately leads the reader to ponder the historical foundations of the 1948 Nakba, as well as the Zionist intentions and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the land where they belong.' Middle East Monitor 'The Book of Disappearance ... in a stunning translation by poet Sinan Antoon ... could not be more timely.' Catherine Taylor, Irish Times 'Seductively bold ... This rich, potent novel reminds us that there are no easy answers.' John Self, The Guardian 'Incredible ... beautifully translated by Sinan Antoon ... In The Book of Disappearance, silence is cold, it doesn't respond, it haunts.' Sarah Shaffi, Jhalak Review