Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative

Synopsis

Delivered as the Edward W. Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University just days before October 7, 2023, and expanded with a powerful afterword written in the months that followed, Recognizing the Stranger examines the relationship between literature, narrative, and the ongoing struggle for Palestinian freedom. Drawing on the work of Edward Said, Aristotle, James Joyce, Ghassan Kanafani, and many others, Isabella Hammad explores how stories shape political understanding—and where narrative reaches its limits in the face of historical violence.

Blending literary criticism, history, memoir, and political reflection, Hammad argues that fiction can deepen our understanding of injustice without reducing it to simple moral lessons. Thoughtful, rigorous, and deeply humane, Recognizing the Stranger is both an impassioned defense of literature and a searching meditation on Palestine, colonialism, and the ethical responsibility of bearing witness. Longlisted for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism, it is an essential work for readers interested in the intersection of politics, history, and art.

About the Author

Isabella Hammad is a British-Palestinian novelist and essayist. She is the author of The Parisian and Enter Ghost, both of which received widespread critical acclaim and numerous literary awards. Named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists, Hammad is recognized for her work exploring history, identity, exile, and the enduring legacy of Palestine through both fiction and nonfiction.

Publisher

Black Cat

Publication Date

September 24, 2024

Format

Paperback

Pages

96

Subjects

Literary Criticism · Essays · Palestine · Middle Eastern History · Political Philosophy · Cultural Studies

ISBN

9780802163929