The Blue Between Sky and Water

The Blue Between Sky and Water is a book written by Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa. The book is Abulhawa's second novel and was sold in 19 languages before its release, and was published in English in 2015. The book navigates the experience of three generations of Palestinian women as they face the consequences of the Israeli occupation.

Synopsis

Nazmiyeh

The story begins in the village of Bayt Daras with the onset of the Nakba. Nazmiyeh's family home is stormed while she is alone with her younger sister. She is raped by Jewish guerilla forces who then proceed to kill her sister in front of her. Eventually the family flees to Gaza, where Nazmiyeh marries her childhood lover, within a few months, though she never reveals to anyone about the instance of the rape. Her first born child, a boy, has blue eyes. The boy grows into a resistance fighter who is imprisoned by Israel.

Nur

Nazmiyeh's brother moves to America seeking better opportunities. He and his American wife have one son, Michael, who has completely lost his connection to his Palestinian identity. Michael has a daughter, Nur, who spends the most time with her grandpa, following her dad's death in a car accident. Following her grandpa's death from illness, Nur is taken back in by her American mother who ends up marrying another man, who subsequently abuses Nur.

Nur decides to go back to Gaza where she is able to find Nazmiyeh and reconnects with her homeland. The novel ends with Nur celebrating with Nazmiyeh as a prisoner release is announced and there is hope that Nazmiyeh's son might be among those released.

Reception

Dorothy Reno, writing for the Washington Independent Review of Books, claims that the book's readers are "charmed by Abulhawa’s glittering language". Imogen Edge-Partington, writing for The Student, attributes the novel's success to "its many dimensions and its intricate complexity". Margie Orford, writing for The Independent, describes the author's voice in the book as "a voice that returns to the world the stories of Palestine that we ignore at our peril".