A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PRIX FEMINA AND THE PRIX MEDICIS
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO BOOKS GLASS BELL AWARD
WINNER OF THE PRIX DU MEILLEUR LIVRES ETRANGER
WINNER OF THE 2020 NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS
CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF 2020 BY THE SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER, GUARDIAN, i PAPER, FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW STATESMAN, SCOTSMAN, IRISH TIMES, BBC.COM, WATERSTONES.COM
'A wondrous book. It left me hopeful; this is its gift' Elizabeth Strout
'An empathy engine ... It is, itself, an agent of change' New York Times Book Review
'A quite extraordinary novel' Kamila Shamsie
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How do we continue living once we have lost our reason to live?
Rami and Bassam live in the city of Jerusalem but exist worlds apart, divided by an age-old conflict. And yet they have one thing in common. Both are fathers; both are fathers of daughters and both daughters are now lost.
When Rami and Bassam meet, and tell one another the story of their grief, the most unexpected thing of all happens- they become best of friends. And their stories become one story, a story with the power to heal and the power to change the world.
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'The book goes anywhere and everywhere. It is a delirious and thrilling improvisation, a jazz solo spun out of that meeting - A spectacular structure of stories about everything' Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times