A review by yossikhe
Dancing Arabs by Sayed Kashua
5.0
Dancing Arabs has everything from disenchantment with life to questions of identity or cultural critique. Sayed Kashua writes in his Keret-esque satirical style, which makes the book funny at times. However, underneath that fun, the reader finds topics as hard to read as discrimination (Arabs that are happy with Jews’ death and systematic racism from the Jews to the Arabs in Israel), patriarchy (honor killings within Arab-Israeli society, wives exchanges) and identity (What does it mean to be an Arab-Israeli? Where do you belong? Is it worth it to pass-off as a Jew?). I loved this book because it was complex: it goes beyond the politics of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to display its effects on the personal, daily lives of the people that are involved in it, particularly Arab-Israelis. I also like that it doesn’t glorify either community: the book constitutes a critique of systemic discrimination against Arabs, but that doesn’t mean that that community is perfect.
In my opinion it is a must-read on the Israeli-Arab conflict for two things: 1) Phenomenal book, incredibly complex and 2) It is written from an Arab perspective, which is rare.
In my opinion it is a must-read on the Israeli-Arab conflict for two things: 1) Phenomenal book, incredibly complex and 2) It is written from an Arab perspective, which is rare.