The Parisian, or, Al-Barisi /

Originally published: London: Jonathan Cape, 2019.

A young Palestinian dreamer sets out on a voyage of self-discovery against the backdrop of the First World War. Midhat develops a sense of the fragility of things, the changeable nature of categories and the fundamental desire to belong. 'A sublime reading experience: delicate, restrained, surpassingly intelligent, uncommonly poised and truly beautiful' Zadie Smith**WINNER OF THE BETTY TRASK AWARD 2020**Midhat Kamal - dreamer, romantic, aesthete - leaves Palestine in 1914 to study medicine in France, under the tutelage of Dr Molineu. He falls deeply in love with Jeannette, the doctor's daughter. But Midhat soon discovers that everything is fragile: love turns to loss, friends become enemies and everyone is looking for a place to belong. Through Midhat's eyes we see the tangled politics and personal tragedies of a turbulent era - the Palestinian struggle for independence, the strife of the early twentieth century, and the looming shadow of the Second World War. Lush and immersive, and devastating in its power, The Parisian is an elegant, richly-imagined debut from a dazzling new voice in fiction.*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2020**SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD FICTION AWARD 2019*