Reviews

The Sea Cloak and other stories by Nayrouz Qarmout

indukisreading's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

suzanne_between_pages's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

qomareads's review against another edition

4.0

If you’re a fan of Susan Abulhawa books I would love to recommend this one. It’s a collection of short stories exploring what it means to be a Palestinian especially in Gaza.

I’m choking on my own tears. Highly recommend.

misspalah's review against another edition

5.0

“It all happens in a split second. Zahra is blown backwards by a blast of hot air. Her first thought is that she’s been hit by a motorbike. For a moment she can see only smoke. Then, as she gets to her feet, she realises these aren’t exhaust fumes. As the smoke clears white petals appear scattered across the pavement. And in between all the white, patches of red. Not flat spots of it, but pieces. Clumps. Threads and stems of red. The humming above her fades. She looks up at the sky. Birds quietly scatter. Something about their silence makes her stiffen like plaster. She can’t feel her feet.”
- The Sea Cloak, Nayrouz Qarmout
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This is truly a mighty collection of short stories especially when you are familiar with Palestine history and issues. 14 short stories featured in this book did enough to show what people in Gaza is going through every day. The book began with the titular tale ‘the sea cloak’ and let me tell you, the first story already broke me. The normalcy one would crave to just want to live in peace, to not being reminded that there’s intense illegal occupation by zionist and to helplessly seeing death and misery over and over again while the whole world choose to ignore. Daily tribulations faced by Palestinians in Gaza is emboldened in each story. Due to that, i will not choose favourite as all of the 14 stories touched the core of my heart. I am particularly grateful for the end notes that some stories has to show how related these short stories with every real events or incidents that happened in Palestine. This is the first Palestinian female author that i have read and i am ashamed to admit it. When it comes to Palestine subject matter, i gravitated towards the memoir and history books thus ended up overlooking Palestinian Literature and Fictional works. Before i proceed to end my review, let me do a brief introduction on the author. She was born in Damascus and returned to the Gaza Strip as part of the 1994 Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement. Besides being an author, she’s also women’s rights campaigner.
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Last but not least to correspond for those who are still clueless on Palestine and Israel issue or kept saying whatever happened between Palestine and Israel is a Conflict or War, check your facts. The fight is not equal, the land takeover is illegal, It is obviously Apartheid and settler colonialism at its best and you don’t have to be muslims to acknowledge that there is injustice against Palestinians. You just need to be human.

pauline_kappmeyer's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

woolgatherer's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was such a beautifully translated (and written, I imagine) collection of short stories that focuses on Palestinian life in Gaza. These stories aren’t entirely political in nature, though the political tension over the years between Israel and Palestine is ever-present in these pages, all of which goes to show that this is everyday living. As stated, the focus is primarily on everyday life through the eyes of different Palestinians. These stories cover a broad range of emotions and thoughts that these characters feel as the days pass, allowing Qarmout to include some commentary on issues that I imagine she cares about (e.g., feminism). As much violence and heartbreak as there are in these stories, there are still beautiful moments that encourage the reader to consider the joys of the little things in life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism

wryneck's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

anetq's review against another edition

3.0

Short stories from Palestine. Beautiful images of life, love and dance ...and suicide bombers and drone attacks. I like the way it paints a portrait of life and normalcy broken by bloody intervals, but it is also dissatisfying as a reader, the way some short story collections are. I miss a little more plot, a little less imagery - but hey, that's just me. The writing is beautiful.

thatothernigeriangirl's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars

helen88's review

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0