East Jerusalem Noir

East Jerusalem’s thorny politics run through each of the 13 stories comprising this sturdy entry in Akashic’s long-running regional noir series, which is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir. The stories, each by a Palestinian author, mostly focus on everyday life for the city’s Arab Palestinian residents as they contend with the realities of Israeli occupation, including land confiscation, displacement from their neighborhoods, and travel restrictions. Stories by Ibrahim Jouhar (“The Scorpion”) and Rahaf Al-Sa’ad (“In an Extraordinary City”) deal with the anger and despair families face as they’re forced to relocate before Israeli authorities demolish their homes. In Iyad Shamasna’s “An Astronaut in Jerusalem,” a young boy’s dream of becoming an astronaut is dashed when he bumps against the limitations of movement imposed on his Arab family. Nuhza Abu Ghosh’s “The Ceiling of the City” sees a native of East Jerusalem jailed because he forgot his ID on the way to pray at a local mosque. Crime is largely absent from the collection, which derives most of its conflict from political tensions, but in standard noir tradition, few of the selections have happy endings. Written with passion and empathy, the volume’s strength lies in giving voice to the varied experiences of Palestinians who live, work, and write in one of the world’s most complicated cities. It’s a fascinating glimpse of life under occupation. (Nov.)