This book offers connected stories of Palestinians in the US. It was probably a 3* for me, but I bumped it up as I think we all need more Palestinian stories in our lives right now.

This is such a wonderful and beautiful collection of stories.
I loved that all the stories and American-Palestinian characters are interconnected.
This is a brilliantly written story with great characters.

I didn’t get to finish this before it got archived but I really enjoyed what I did get to read. The stories linked together seamlessly and the characters were engaging and vivid. I will be recommending this!

This is a wonderfully power and much needed collection of Palestinian stories! I bought a physical copy as I wanted to hold this is my hands as I devoured tale after tale.

This is a really nice collection of interconnected stories about American Palestinians. I just love when all the stories are connected in some way and really enjoyed her writing.

i really really wanted to like this book since it‘s written by a palestinian-american author but unfortunately this one was not for me… a lot of the parts felt very one-dimensional to me. i only started to enjoy the book towards the last 5% of the book. i wish the author nothing but the best!

Behind You Is The Sea, Susan Muaddi Darraj’s third collection for adults, is billed as a novel but is definitely a (very) loosely connected series of short stories about Palestinian-American families in Baltimore. This in itself is not a problem for me. Indeed, looking at the book this way helps me to appreciate the stories that I did like. The standout here is the final entry, ‘Escorting the Body’, where Marcus accompanies his father’s body back to be buried in Palestine despite their estrangement in life; Marcus detested his father for disowning his younger sister Amal. In a homeland he has never visited before, Marcus discovers that his fluent Arabic sounds old-fashioned because he learned it from older relatives, and negotiates a more complex memory incarnated in the figure of Rita, a woman shunned after her arrest and rape during the intifada in 1989, but protected by his father, who also gave her the task of shielding his house from settlers. Despite its cliched plot, I also emotionally connected to Samira in ‘Worry Beads’, who is negotiating her beloved father’s dementia in the face of family indifference and past violence.

The rest… not so much. A lot of Behind You Is The Sea reminded me of Aisha Abdel Gawad’s Between Two Moons, which focuses on an Egyptian-American family in New York; both books often feel like YA because of their reliance on familiar coming-of-age beats. Many of Darraj’s narrators are very young, dealing with things like teen pregnancy, abusive parents, body image issues and the problematic school production of Aladdin; these issues are obviously important but felt too hackneyed for me. Having said that, though, Darraj’s writing is nowhere near as distinctive as Gawad’s. It’s the sort of pared-back simple prose that I suspect comes from US creative writing classes, as I seem to read versions of it in a lot of American debuts. I struggled constantly to remember who anybody was, partly because the stories flip between a lot of characters and time periods, but partly because very few of the characters are distinguished other than by their family roles. And for a collection which Etaf Rum thinks ‘fearlessly confronts stereotypes about Palestinian culture’, I found a lot of the situations quite stereotyped – I’m not really equipped to comment on this, but I was interested to note that the two reviews I’ve found from Arab-American readers make the same criticism.

I’m sorry not to have liked this more.

A stunning collection of interconnected short stories centred around a community of Palestinian-Americans in Baltimore.

Some families fleeing Palestine with nothing and starting over. While others brought over wealth and had a head start in their new life. Some assimilated to this new land, while others longed for the only place they ever called home. Some breaking family traditions and forging their own path, while others continued with all they were ever taught.

I was sooo impressed with this collection mainly because every story/character was just soo unapologetic human. They were just them. Breaking the stereotypes of Arabs and Arab-Americans, these stories show how nuance each and everyone’s lives are.

Just everyday people trying to survive in a new world. Adapting but not being accepted. Being successful in their career but shunned because they don’t have a family. Teen pregnancy, single mothers, divorce, marrying outside the culture. This book had it all.

A few stories really stood out. One woman gets a job as cleaner for one of the wealthier families in the community - from the outside in they have it all. A mansion, fancy cars, money and prestige. But instead she finds a broken family, a husband who is never home, daughters who yell and break things, a son who steals. Comparing herself to them and her little cramped house who she shares with her sister, nieces and nephew — she realises what they don’t have is love.

I think the title story was well worth the read. Estranged from their father who died all alone on the kitchen floor and took days before anyone noticed. Fulfilling his father’s dying wish, he takes his body back to be buried in Palestine. He’s only ever known America as home and didn’t understand why his father was so adamant about returning to a country he fled from. When he returns, his eyes are opened to the harsh reality of an occupied Palestine but also to the beauty and abundance of love and community there.

A stunning stunning book.

I was fully absorbed in this interconnected collection of short stories centred around a Baltimore community of Palestinian-American immigrants across generations. Each story held poignancy, societal expectations jostling against one’s own dreams, often entwined with the American Dream. Racism and xenophobia exist alongside explorations of identity and belonging. I thought it was fantastic, and look forward to reading more by the same author. My thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this complimentary copy!

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

3.75 stars

I always enjoy a collection of interwoven short stories, and Behind You is the Sea was no exception. It follows several Christian Palestinian-American characters as they navigate relationships, both familial and romantic, grief, racism, cultural appropriation, terminal illness and more. Other reviewers have pointed out that there is some problematic depictions of a 'hero' police officer, plus the story featuring an autistic child could have benefitted from a sensitivity reader (the story uses outdated terms for autism & the mother is grateful her son doesn't have 'a more serious disability'). But I think overall there is a lot this collection offers in terms of the Christian Palestinian-American experience. As Tasnim (@reads.and.reveries) pointed out in her review, these perspectives are all too often erased as they do not serve the narrative the white west tries to push of Palestine.

I think my favourite story was Worry Beads, which follows a lawyer with a troubled personal past. Her marriage ended in violence and as a result she was unjustly cast out of her family home. But she meets someone new, aged 40, and there is such a joyous depiction of finding love in 'later' life. But amid the new love, Darraj portrays the tragedy of dementia, which robs us of the people we love even as they're still here.

A moving read, with some shortcomings, but one I'd still recommend with caution to the content warnings.

Insightful novel that follows interconnected slices of life in a Palestinian American community in Baltimore. Different angles showing the American experience make it a powerful collection.

A great story collection focusing on the lives of 1st and 2nd generation Palestinian-Americans. All of the stories are linked, some more loosely than others, but you realise quite quickly that it doesn’t really matter. You don’t have to know the back stories of the secondary characters in each story because you are wholly focused on the primary character in that moment and their struggles and joys.

I flew through this one and can’t wait to read more from this author.

In Behind You Is The Sea, Darraj weaves individual stories together superbly to create a collective Arab American narrative. Through this Darraj inspects, criticises, and celebrates Palestinian culture - from the harrowing account of an honor killing, to one of the characters returning his father home to his ancestral land after death. Each story trembles with heartache and hope, ultimately embodying the complexity of migration or seeking refuge; challenges, grief and fear remain, but there still burns a hope brighter than all, a hope that life will be better now.

A collection of interconnected short stories following Christian Palestinian-American characters living in Baltimore, across a variety of ages, professions and classes. I liked some of these much more than others (eg. weird copaganda that felt out of place?) and I do agree that at times this leans a bit too heavily into stereotypes.

However I massively enjoyed most of these stories. Favourites included Cleaning Lentils, Worry Beads, and the titular Behind You Is The Sea. They have a focus on family and class dynamics and together with the rest paint a compelling picture of diaspora and a community infrequently spoken about. The writing is excellent and character relationships given just enough show over tell.

Genuinely one of the best books I've ever read.

Compelling in a way I never thought a collection of short stories could be. The collection follows a Palestinian-American community who are one or two connections away from each other - each short story follows a different character within the community, with some of the characters from the other short stories flitting in and out. Their lives crossover due to their interweaving Palestinian heritage and displacement.

The connecting thread is the dissonance between a culture you come from, and one that you're now in, and how that affects how you navigate difficulties in life, which, in the collection include: domestic violence; dementia; miscarriage; infertility; parental death; honour killings, amongst many more. The idea of reputation being more important than feelings, one that is prevalent within ethnic minority cultures, is also explored.

We're invited directly into the homes of the cast of characters, living in Baltimore, and shows how varying class, generational divides and religion affect the very one-dimensional Palestinian stereotype that the West often has. What this collection does so well is explore the differences, the rich culture, the differing perspectives of one community.

Stunning. Comedic. Heartbreaking.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.
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I’ll try and get through my thoughts on this book as quickly and succinctly as possible. Starting off with things I liked: the exploration of culture and belonging was really, really wonderful and was delightful to read about. I really enjoyed that all the characters were linked together in some way.

That being said, I think this book would have benefited from following the lives of less characters, say maybe 3 or 4 instead of 6+. Because we were following so many characters, I found it quite difficult to connect with them on a deeper level, as I wasn’t really spending that much time with them. I think the book would have read better if it focused on less characters so readers had a chance to connect instead of struggling to keep track of people.

Overall, I do think this is a well written and necessary novel, I just wish I could have had a chance to get to know these characters better.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Told through a series of short stories from different character's perspectives, this is a look into a Palestinian Christian community in the US, from young teenagers grappling with two sides of their Palestinian-American identity to the first generation immigrants who left Palestine behind. This was such a compelling and quick read - I was so drawn in by every character, and before I realised it I'd finished the book in just a few hours. There are so many layers to the different stories, which all interlock with each other, from strained family relationships to the thrill of first love and the sting of heartbreak. These are human stories, with a ring of truth to them, and the echoes of a homeland many have never been to. The expectations of their first generation relatives thread themselves through each tale.

A relatively quick and easy read, very digestible and will stay with you afterwards.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Behind You Is The Sea is a collection of connecting short stories based on the lives of a Palestinian American community/extended family living in Baltimore. Each story follows a different narrator though the lives of all of the characters intersect and cross paths the whole way through.

Darraj's narration both has a poetic quality to it and is straight to the point, immediately drawing you into all of their lives. Each perspective explores identity and the diaspora experience across different generations in a unique way. Touching on themes of love and grief, family relationships, the upholding of cultural traditions as well as microaggressions both within and outside of the community there was something profoundly moving in every single account.

Whilst the episodic nature of the book worked really well I wouldn't have minded if this had been a full length saga as there were so many of the stories and individuals that I wanted to know more from. No character in this book is perfect and you'll definitely warm to some more than others but Darraj's writing sure makes none of them forgettable!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars

Really enjoyed this book. I loved how it followed a different number of characters but they were all interconnected. There was a real wit to the narrative and every character was super interesting and unique. Some parts of it made my jaw drop as it explored such a range of human experiences. Really enjoyed and how it was structured.

This book is the story of Palestinian families who emigrated to the USA or were born there to immigrant parents. We learn of their stories from mainly from the second and third generation immigrant family members but the experiences of the first generations are included in these viewpoints. We see the connections between these families, how they view each other, both within their own community and against the Americans and how this influences their lives. We see how the first generations, try and maintain the Palestine roots through names they give their children, language, food and music, we see how their attitudes impact their feelings for their new homeland. We also find out how the later generations start to integrate more into the American culture but don’t entirely fit in and how this also causes issues with their own parents.

This is not only a book about immigration, about cultural differences but about life too, regardless of cultural roots: we witness marriages, affairs, different ways of life, dealing with infertility, abortion, illnesses like dementia, family feuds and falling outs just to mention a few. The final chapter is beautiful and full of emotion.

The viewpoints change from chapter to chapter and the chapters are therefore relatively long as they each tell a person’s story. Over the course of the book, we see the same names crop up and start to make the connections between these individuals and how they relate to each other. I actually ended up drawing up a family tree of sorts a few chapters in, as I found it tricky remembering who was who and being able to glance at this whilst starting a new chapter helped me place that person straight away.

The writing is beautiful and rich. There are parts that make you laugh and parts which break your heart. A wonderful insight into both emigration and life after in a new land and Palestine history and culture.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @swiftpress for this ARC (advanced reader copy). Publication date in the UK for for Behind you is the sea is 6 June 2024.