‘Explicitly citing lived experience and collective past as examples of credible material evidence ... this book asserts that the Nakba is best told by those with the bruises, not those with the batons.’ — Mohammed El-Kurd, author of Rifqa

The year is 1968. The recent Arab defeat in the Naksa has led to the loss of all of historic Palestine. In the midst of violent political upheaval, Mahmoud, a young Palestinian boy living in the Galilee, embarks on a school trip to visit the West Bank for the first time.

For Mahmoud, his mother and his grandmother, the journey sets off a flood of memories, tracing moments that bond three generations together. How do these personal experiences become collective history? Why do some feel guilty for surviving war? Is it strange to long for a time never lived?

In this groundbreaking novella, Yara Hawari harnesses the enduring power of memory in defiance of the constrictions on Palestinian life. Against a system bent on the erasure of their people, the family’s perseverance is unbroken in the decades-long struggle for their stone house.

‘Filled with visceral descriptions of life under occupation, The Stone House is a must-read.’ — The New Arab

‘Achieves lyricism by layering these [historical moments] with personal history imbued with emotional truth.’ — Words Without Borders

‘Explicitly citing lived experience and collective past as examples of credible material evidence ... this book asserts that the Nakba is best told by those with the bruises, not those with the batons.’ — Mohammed El-Kurd, author of Rifqa

‘A rigorous, feminist engagement with the history of the Palestinian tragedy ... Hawari explores the multifarious experiences of exile, displacement, survival, and return.’ — Isabella Hammad, author of The Parisian

‘A powerful story told with great care for humans’ capacity to remember and resist ... Hawari presents us with an evocative tale.’ — Ilan Pappé, author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

‘Yara weaves Palestinian oral histories into a tapestry of beauty. This narration is an act of resistance—an ode to the Hawari family and to every Palestinian family facing erasure.’ — Tareq Baconi, author of Hamas Contained

‘In accepting no defeat as final, this story should stir hope in us all.’ — Barnaby Raine, writer and activist

‘An ode to all the emotional roller coasters we had to shelve in the name of struggle ... a testament to our pursuit of a life lived well.’ — Mariam Barghouti, Palestinian writer and researcher

‘I love [the writer’s] voice … their observational power and what they have to say.’ — Preti Taneja, The Guardian

In Palestine with Books — Words Without Borders

Preti Taneja — The books of my life — The Guardian

8 Books By Arab Authors To Read This Summer — Pink Jinn

‘We will be defined by liberation’ (Part 2 of 2) — Rampant

‘Everything in it is true’ (Part 1 of 2) — Rampant

REVIEW: The Stone House — Generational histories and vivid Palestinian storytelling — The New Arab

The best books by Arab authors in 2021 — The New Arab

The Distant Here — Shubbak Festival

Shubbak 2021: 8 must-see events at this year’s festival — The Evening Standard

9 December 2021
Paperback / 9781914221040
ebook / 9781914221101
198 × 129 mm
92 pages