Description
Karim Kattan will be discussing his novel The Palace on the Higher Hill, which won the 2021 Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie and has now been translated into English by Jeffrey Zuckerman. It follows a young man who returns to the village of his birth in Palestine after receiving a letter about the death of an aunt he cannot remember. Join us to hear him speak to Anbara Salam on Wednesday 7th May. Tickets £5 including a glass of wine or soft drink.
About the book: Faysal receives a mysterious letter about the death of aunt he can’t remember. Leaving his lover and his life in Europe behind, he returns to the village of his birth in Palestine and to his family’s extraordinary, deserted house, the palace on the higher hill. With a backdrop of violence and the permanent threat from settlers, Faysal wanders the once-lavish rooms as characters from the past return to shed light on his family story and on the story of his people.
In beautiful, angry prose, Karim Kattan introduces us to an intimate Palestine of the imagination where dreams and nightmares are in constant conflict. With hints of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Brideshead Revisited, he gives a nuanced deeply moving vision of the tragedy of war and a picture of his homeland that feels entirely new to English-speaking readers. This English translation is by Jeffrey Zuckerman and will be published by Foundry Editions on 2nd April.