The Children of the Ghetto: I: My Name is Adam

Synopsis

Long exiled in New York, Palestinian expatriate Adam Dannoun thought he knew himself. But an encounter with Blind Mahmoud, a father figure from his childhood, changes everything. As Adam investigates what occurred in 1948 in Lydda, the city of his birth, he gathers stories that speak to his people's bravery, ingenuity, and resolve in the face of unimaginable hardship.

Lit by the sublime beauty and tragedy of classical Arabic poetry, The Children of the Ghetto: My Name Is Adam weaves history, memory, and poetry into a sprawling memorial to the Nakba and the lives left in its wake. Oscillating between Adam and a self-reflexive version of Elias Khoury, the novel incorporates real and invented scholarly texts, Khoury's own work, and Adam's lost notebooks to create an intricate account of a life shadowed by atrocity.

About the Author

Elias Khoury (1948–2024) was a Lebanese novelist, journalist, playwright, and lifelong activist for social justice. His novels include Gate of the Sun, Yalo, and As Though She Were Sleeping. He received the Mahmoud Darwish Award for Creativity and was widely regarded as one of the most important Arab writers of his generation.

Humphrey Davies is a translator of Arabic fiction, historical, and classical texts. His translations include works by Elias Khoury, Naguib Mahfouz, and Alaa Al Aswany. He is a two-time winner of the Banipal Prize and the recipient of the English PEN Writers in Translation Award.

Publisher

Archipelago Books

Publication Date

June 10, 2019

Format

Paperback

Pages

400

Subjects

Literary Fiction · Palestinian Literature · Arabic Literature · Historical Fiction · World Literature

ISBN

9781939810137

Oscillating between two narrators—the self-reflexive "Elias Khoury" and Adam himself—Children of the Ghetto: My Name is Adam engages real (and invented) scholarly texts, Khoury’s own work, and Adam’s lost notebooks in an intertextual account of a life shadowed by atrocity.