Mother of Strangers

Amiry’s stirring debut novel (after the memoir My Damascus) follows the young love between two Palestinians whose families become displaced during the 1947–1948 civil war. Subhi, a 15-year-old mechanic whiz, is sent to solve an irrigation problem with the orange groves of one of the richest merchants in the port city of Jaffa. For his work, Subhi earns an elegant English suit, which he dreams of wearing at his wedding to Shams, a peasant girl whose father works for Subhi’s. Wearing the suit, Subhi visits Jaffa’s upscale cafés, coffee shops, and cinemas, and his uncle takes him to a brothel. Over the course of a monthlong summer festival, Subhi hangs around and makes his feelings known to Shams; they kiss, but their encounter is fleeting, as Subhi worries his parents wouldn’t approve. Meanwhile, Britain’s withdrawal and plans to partition the country into Jewish and Arab states grips the city with fear as hostilities escalate. Three days of shelling by the Jewish militia in 1948 decimates the city, displacing thousands, and in the chaos, Subhi is arrested and Shams and her family flee as refugees but get separated. Though the end might feel a bit rushed, the characters feel achingly alive. Amiry’s eye-opening story will keep readers turning the pages. (Aug.)