Men in the Sun: And Other Palestinian Stories

What our staff have to say:

"While we may associate Palestine with only war and genocide, Ghassan Kanafani’s short stories and novella open the window into the everyday living of Palestinians, one that dives into their dreams, their softness, heat and more."

— Phalguni

A classic of Arabic fiction and of what Kanafani termed ‘resistance literature’ Three Palestinian men embark on a brutal and treacherous odyssey across the Iraqi desert to Kuwait, not for liberation but material betterment. Under the indifferent brutality of border bureaucracy and the blank aggression of the sun, things grow increasingly oppressive. Breezily conversational and disarmingly lyrical, this short novel delivers a shuddering dose of horror. Collected here alongside the titular novella are six short stories, including the timeless, resonant ‘Letter from Gaza’, Kanafani’s first published work.