Behind You Is the Sea fearlessly confronts stereotypes about Palestinian culture weaving a remarkable portrait of lifes intricate moments from joyous weddings to heart-wrenching funerals from shattered hearts to hidden truths--I wept and grew alongside this family. This is a story that challenges perceptions offering a heartfelt glimpse into the interior lives of those who call this community home. A must read novel with unforgettable characters and an unwavering fresh voice--I couldnt put it down until the very last page! Darraj delivers an instant necessary and authentic classic to the cannon of Arab-American literature.--Etaf Rum author of Evil Eye and A Woman Is No Man 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 whove all found a different welcome in America. Their various fates and struggles cause their community dynamic to sizzle and sometimes explode: The wealthy Ammar family employs young Maysoon Baladi whose own family struggles financially to clean up after their spoiled teenagers. Meanwhile Marcus Salameh confronts his father in an effort to protect his younger sister for dishonoring their name. Only a trip to Palestine where Marcus experiences an unexpected and dramatic transformation can bridge this seemingly unbridgeable divide between the two generations. 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.
