Palestine, 1948. The Abulheja family are forcibly removed from their ancestral home in Ein Hod and sent to live in a refugee camp in Jenin. Through Amal, the bright granddaughter of the patriarch, we witness the stories of her brothers: one, a stolen boy who becomes an Israeli soldier; the other who in sacrificing everything for the Palestinian cause will become his enemy. Amal’s own dramatic story threads its way through six decades of Israeli–Palestinian tension: it is one of love and loss, of childhood, marriage and parenthood, and finally the need to share history with her daughter, to preserve the greatest love she has. Richly told and full of humanity, this is an extraordinary debut.

‘Mornings in Jenin is a powerful and passionate insight into what many Palestinians have had to endure since the state of Israel was created. Susan Abulhawa guides us through traumatic events with anger and great tenderness too, creating unforgettable images of a world in which humanity and inhumanity, selflessness and selfishness, love and hate grow so close to each other’ -- MICHAEL PALIN

‘A unique literary experience not to be missed’ -- HANAN ASHRAWI

‘A powerful and heartbreaking book’ -- ESTHER FREUD

Published by Bloomsbury UK/US in 2010, 338 pages