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Out Of It [Paperback]

Selma Dabbagh
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
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Book Description

5 Dec 2011

Gaza is being bombed. Rashid - an unemployed twenty-seven year old who has stayed up smoking grass watching it happen - wakes to hear that he's got the escape route he's been waiting for: a scholarship to London. His twin sister, Iman - frustrated by the atrocities and inaction around her - has also been up all night, in a meeting that offers her nothing but more disappointment. Grabbing recklessly at an opportunity to make a difference, she finds herself being followed by an unknown fighter.

Meanwhile Sabri, the oldest brother of this disparate family, works on a history of Palestine from his wheelchair as their mother pickles vegetables and feuds with the neighbours.

Written with extraordinary humanity and humour, and moving between Gaza, London and the Gulf, Out of It is a tale that redefines Palestine and its people. It follows the lives of Rashid and Iman as they try to forge paths for themselves in the midst of occupation, religious fundamentalism and the divisions between Palestinian factions. It tells of family secrets, unlikely love stories and unburied tragedies as it captures the frustrations and energies of the modern Arab world.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (5 Dec 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1408821303
  • ISBN-13: 978-1408821305
  • Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 2.3 x 23.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 283,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

An original and vivid voice. Full of energy, this is a new and welcome take on the Palestinian story (Ahdaf Soueif )

This brave,important new writer draws us right into the beating heart of contemporary Arab life in all its vigour and complexity (Maggie Gee )

A punchy first novel by a British Palestinian lawyer ... Beautifully observed ... the plot races and the voices are strong. The reader follows each person down the chosen path and, crucially, cares what becomes of them (The Times )

[Dabbagh's] talent for nailing detail is evident ... The author's assured command of her material means she can switch registers with ease, interleaving escalating tension and welcome humour ... Dabbagh herself scores highly with her debut novel (Independent )

This is a very successful debut novel ... The writing is both literary and accessible, fast-paced, passionate, exuberant and heart-lurching. We'll be hearing much more from Selma Dabbagh (Guardian )

A remarkable debut showing the different ways people cope living in political turmoil. I loved it. (Sue Leonard The Irish Examiner )

Book Description

Moving from Palestine to London to the Gulf, this unique novel brilliantly depicts modern-day family life in Gaza

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Mary Whipple HALL OF FAME TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
In this debut novel, British Palestinian author Selma Dabbagh creates a family from Gaza which reflects all the stresses, conflicts, and competing philosophies endemic to that world, a small strip of land along the Mediterranean coast in the westernmost corner of Israel, bordering Egypt. Main character Rashid Mujahed, the second son of his family, lives with his mother, twin sister Iman, and older brother Sabri, and though the family is well enough off to be able to travel abroad, they are firmly linked to Gaza, their home, at least for now. Despite the frantic activity going on around him in Gaza, with many political movements arising and competing with each other, he despairs of much change and has applied for graduate school in London.

Sabri, Rashid's older brother, lost both legs fifteen years ago in an explosion during the First Intifadah, and he now spends his time documenting the never-ending attacks on Gaza and the horrors he observes from his wheelchair at the second floor window of his house. Also living at home is Rashid's twin sister Iman, a quiet teacher who has studied in Switzerland. While she has no interest in taking dramatic action against Israel, she responds when a female friend offers her an opportunity to do something important, only to panic when she barely escapes an explosion that kills an important member of the PLO. Their father Jibril, out of favor with the PLO, has escaped to one of the Gulf countries, while back in Gaza, the mother of the family manages the household. She has secrets, kept even from her own family.

However interesting and important Part I in Gaza is, the novel seems to be going in many different directions in this section, and it becomes difficult to keep track of who is a member of which party or faction, especially when the characters move in and out of various groups, a confusion which may parallel that of Gaza itself. Part II, set in London, becomes much livelier and even satiric. Rashid is attending university and working with a British researcher. His dinner meeting with girlfriend Lisa's family and a description of the behavior of a man assigned to the British Foreign Office provide bits of dark humor as they illuminate cultural differences, and this tone continues when Iman, in Part III, travels to live with her father and his new wife in the Gulf. Eventually, Rashid and Iman unearth their mother's secrets and discover the cyclic nature of resistance. The novel comes full circle with their return to Gaza months later, and the conclusion forms a well drawn coda to the complicated Gaza setting.

By showing the action through members of a single family with differing points of view, the author makes many issues come alive in new ways and shows how they affect family dynamics. And though the issues and the different political factions attempting to deal with them are sometimes a bit muddled for those of us who are not already familiar with all the various groups in Gaza, Dabbagh's focus is clearly on those issues. We come to know the characters within the limits of their points of view, and they and their fates become part of the message rather than ends in themselves. The novel is enlightening and often entertaining, descriptive and often memorable, and exciting but often horrific, with no suggestions that any solution is forthcoming.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, fresh - great for book clubs 27 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback
This is a story of a Gaza family trying to make sense of their fractured lives. The writing is tight, tense and moving - sometimes even starkly funny. I learnt more about this troubled region from reading Out Of It than from many of the news reports I have seen or read. Dabbagh's vivid, prickly characters live on in the imagination long after the book is finished - she has a great eye for the ordinary and for the absurd. This is an important and contentious subject but, above all, a gripping story beautifully told.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars a brilliant first novel 11 May 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I thoroughly recommend this book. It is a vivid and very moving depiction of Palestinian lives, in Gaza, London and the Gulf. The characters are realistically and sympathetically portrayed. The pain and the absurdities of their existence are honestly described. And while it is at its heart a human tale of individuals and their motivations and responses, it also gives a very clear impression of the complex political background. Very impressive for a first novel. DB
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A Call to Action
British-based Palestinian author Selma Dabbagh's first novel is an unflinching account of the state of life in Gaza in recent years. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kate Hopkins
4.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars
I'm finding this book very hard to rate - the content was 5 star, but unfortunately the editing let it down. Read more
Published 4 months ago by DubaiReader
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Disappointing. A dull read. None of the characters weren't developed enough. The book didn't have much of a storyline either. Very fragmented.
Published 6 months ago by Reader
3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad
Set in Gaza during the second intifada, the story is OK, a bit rambling in parts but not engaging enough, so you don't really care about the participants.
Published 7 months ago by Dons83
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprising and fantastic
I started to read this book because I worry that I don't know enough about the daily reality of life in Gaza; and also frankly because my count of reading books by women is low. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Emran
5.0 out of 5 stars Palestinian journey
The plight of the Palestinian people is often overlooked in the reporting of the Middle East conflict; those imprisoned in the tiny enclave of Gaza face daily tribulations that I,... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Yviek
5.0 out of 5 stars Out of It---Out of Body travel into Gaza
Finally a book about Gaza that captures all its contradictions. Selma Dabbagh has managed in dismantle the walls around this city under siege and get intimate with its inhabitants. Read more
Published 15 months ago by rana
5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh, contemporary, non-didactic novel about Gaza
This is an impressive novel - most notably because it succeeds as a personal story of three siblings making sense of their surroundings, set against the backdrop of Gaza's theatre... Read more
Published 16 months ago by zorazero
5.0 out of 5 stars Real living breathing ... a great read
When I picked up Selma Dabbagh's book I was immediately transported back to Gaza - which I have briefly experienced on two trips. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sara LBA
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling tale
This is a compelling tale first and foremost about a family and then about Palestine. The vividly depicted characters and places have great depth and the story is gripping from... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. A. N. Bajwa
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