In the small Palestinian farming village of Beit Daras, the women of
the Baraka family inspire awe. Nazmiyeh is brazen and fiercely
protective of her clairvoyant little sister, Mariam, with her
mismatched eyes, and of their mother, Um Mahmoud, known for the
fearsome djinn that sometimes possesses her. When the family is
forced by the newly formed State of Israel to leave their ancestral
home, only Nazmiyeh and her brother survive the long road to Gaza.
Amidst the violence and fragility of the refugee camp, Nazmiyeh
builds a family, navigates crises, and nurtures what remains of Beit
Daras's community. But her brother continues his exile's journey to
America, where, upon his death, his granddaughter Nur grows up alone,
in a different kind of exile, the longing for family and roots
eventually beckoning her to Gaza.
Internationally
bestselling author Susan Abulhawa's powerful new novel explores the
legacy of dispossession across continents and generations. With
devastatingly clear-eyed vision of political and personal trauma, The
Blue Between Sky and Water is the story of flawed yet profoundly
courageous women, of separation and heartache, endurance and renewal.