(HarperVia, 2024)
An exciting debut novel that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Baltimore—from young activists in conflict with their traditional parents to the poor who clean for the rich—lives which intersect across divides of class, generation, and religion.
Funny and touching, Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families—the Baladis, the Salamehs, and the Ammars—Palestinian immigrants who’ve all found a different welcome in America.
Behind You Is the Sea faces stereotypes about Palestinian culture head-on and, shifting perspectives to weave a complex social fabric replete with weddings, funerals, broken hearts, and devastating secrets.
Praise for Behind You Is the Sea
“Lively and enlightening.” – People
“Darraj writes with great emotional resonance about hope and disappointment.” – The New Yorker (Best of 2024 so far)
“Marvelous and moving.” – Booklist (starred review)
“Draws a composite portrait of Palestinian American families with sensitivity and humor…breaking down stereotypes and embracing complexity” – The New York Times
“This gorgeous debut, an intergenerational novel-in-stories following three Palestinian-American families in Baltimore, navigates a tricky balance beam: It’s a zoomed-in family drama that simultaneously captures wide-lens truths about cultural differences; the weight of history; and the myriad manifestations of love.” – Elle
“Mainstream media has a way of curating images, shaping the narratives of people and nations. Terms like ‘Arabs,’ ‘Muslims’ and ‘Palestinians’ are often used interchangeably, frequently accompanied by politicized images of refugees or terrorists. Rarely are Arabic-speaking people portrayed with much nuance or depth. Which is, in part, what makes Behind You Is the Sea such an important work: Its characters come to life, transcending politics, breaking through preconceptions and stereotypes, speaking clearly and lucidly about their uniquely human experiences.…Neither angels nor devils, these characters are portrayed in all their complicated, charming, aggravating, bewitching glory. They are human, and as such, they are us.” – Washington Post
“A moving portrait of Palestinian families caught between the pressures of the Old World and the New.” – Kirkus (starred review)
“In her dazzling fiction debut, Susan Muaddi Darraj explores generational divides, activism, reproductive justice, labor and tradition, to name a few.” – Ms. Magazine
“In award-winning author Susan Muaddi Darraj’s debut novel, warmth and humor animate a lively cast of Palestinian American characters who’ve made a home in Baltimore.” – San Francisco Chronicle
“Potent…Throughout, Muaddi Darraj brilliantly depicts complex characters reckoning with the costs of holding tightly to their principles. This is a beautiful portrait of a family reaching for their dreams while holding onto their roots.” – Publishers Weekly
“A nuanced, eye-opening novel full of compelling characters.” – Book Riot
“Muaddi Darraj, a vocal advocate for Palestinian culture who won an American Book Award in 2016, has written a rich, complex, and moving immigrant story with a beautifully-rendered ensemble cast.” – Lit Hub
“A shimmering composite portrait of a Palestinian American community in Baltimore. Across nine stellar linked stories, she explores the complex relationships between characters divided by–or connected despite–class, language, and traditional values.” – Shelf Awareness
“Told through the perspectives of an interwoven group of protagonists, each chapter stands on its own as an. engaging, at times funny, at times revelatory and poignant short story. As the book evolves, the elegant pieces form a mosaic, revealing a unique and diverse community that, while sharing universal U.S. immigrant experiences, also defies stereotypes. Behind You Is the Sea should be on fiction readers’ shortlists for 2024.” – Baltimore Magazine
“Behind You Is the Sea touches on the stereotypes about Palestinians and shifts perspectives to showcase the complexities that lie within Palestinian culture and identity.” – Muslim Girl Blog
“Susan Muaddi Darraj’s powerful debut novel-in-stories, “Behind You Is the Sea,” depicts multiple immigrant Palestinian families in Baltimore, whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Darraj uses a kaleidoscopic point of view, dropping the reader into a character’s life at a pivotal moment, then switching to another character later in time, providing a multifaceted look at their community.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Susan Muaddi Darraj’s debut weaves together interconnected stories to explore the lives of three Palestinian immigrant families living in Baltimore. In their own ways, members of each family find themselves torn between Palestinian and American cultures, expectations, and ways of life. […] Readers who enjoy books about family dynamics, the immigrant experience, and the meaning of home will find a lot of love in these tales.” – NetGalley’s Most Anticipated Books of January 2024
Reviews
“We desperately need more books like this in which Palestinian people are presented as beautiful, richly complex human beings, not consigned to insulting, diminishing references. Gratitude to Susan Muaddi Darraj for her very necessary, beautiful work.” — Naomi Shihab Nye
“Not the Arabian Nights, but a new Arabian Days for our time, the intricately interlocked stories of Behind You Is the Sea bring us richly detailed news of the Palestinian immigrant experience in America…” — Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising, Child of Light: A Biography of Robert Stone, and Behind the Moon
“Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Behind You is the Sea is a powerful and moving novel about the lives of Palestinian immigrants. Told in rich, lush prose, this propulsive and beautiful novel will stay with me for a long time. I loved it.” — Brandon Hobson, National Book Award finalist and author of The Removed
“Behind You Is the Seasweeps readers along as its characters search for love, dignity, and belonging while carving out their own unique destinies. The result sometimes defies cultural tradition and risks deep losses, but these characters always land closer to their personal truths. With tenderness and fitting humor, Muaddi Darraj deftly weaves multiple Arab American voices into a resonant chorus of humanity.” — Sahar Mustafah, author of The Beauty of Your Face
Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Behind You Is the Sea, a tale of the interwoven lives of Palestinian American families in Baltimore, Md., will get your heart racing and leave you sitting at the edge of your seat. Muaddi Darraj paints highly complex and authentic portraits of Arabs in America as they struggle with poverty, religion, living in between two cultures and the pursuit of the American Dream. This page-turner of a novel is an instant classic, and a welcome addition to the cannon of writing on the Arab American experience. —Malaka Gharib, author of the graphic memoirs, It Won’t Always Be Like This and I Was Their American Dream.
“With this unforgettable collection of stories, Susan Muaddi Darraj assumes a unique place in American letters, her Palestinian sensibilities animating universal truths of the human condition. With gritty realism and poetic grace, she writes not simply of survival, but of dignity and flawed nobility in a world overflowing with cynicism and pain. From beginning to end, this novel-in-stories is filled with characters not easily forgotten, and the final story is, quite simply, one of the best that I have ever read. I am grateful for this book.” — Frye Gaillard, author of A Hard Rain
“In Behind You Is The Sea, multiple generations of a family confront stubborn, complicated truths while shouldering the burdensome weight of history. Susan Muaddi Darraj has fashioned a moving tale in which love, beauty, and life persist despite many injustices — indeed, despite everything.” — Jabari Asim, author of Yonder
