Against the Loveless World

A Novel

By: Susan Abulhawa

Narrated by: Susan Abulhawa

Arab American Book Award Winner
2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist
2020 Athenaeum Literary Award Finalist
2020 Palestine Book Awards Winner
Longlisted for Rathbones Folio Prize

“Susan Abulhawa possesses the heart of a warrior; she looks into the darkest crevices of lives, conflicts, horrendous injustices, and dares to shine light that can illuminate hidden worlds for us.” —Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

In this “beautiful...urgent” novel (The New York Times), Nahr, a young Palestinian woman, fights for a better life for her family as she travels as a refugee throughout the Middle East.

As Nahr sits, locked away in solitary confinement, she spends her days reflecting on the dramatic events that landed her in prison in a country she barely knows. Born in Kuwait in the seventies to Palestinian refugees, she dreamed of falling in love with the perfect man, raising children, and possibly opening her own beauty salon. Instead, the man she thinks she loves jilts her after a brief marriage, her family teeters on the brink of poverty, she’s forced to prostitute herself, and the US invasion of Iraq makes her a refugee, as her parents had been. After trekking through another temporary home in Jordan, she lands in Palestine, where she finally makes a home, falls in love, and her destiny unfolds under Israeli occupation. Nahr’s subversive humor and moral ambiguity will resonate with fans of My Sister, The Serial Killer, and her dark, contemporary struggle places her as the perfect sister to Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties.

Written with Susan Abulhawa’s distinctive “richly detailed, beautiful, and resonant” (Publishers Weekly) prose, this powerful novel presents a searing, darkly funny, and wholly unique portrait of a Palestinian woman who refuses to be a victim.

Strong yet vulnerable story of resistance

Thank you for this story. It is surreal to hear it and know that miles and oceans always someone is living this nightmare. Courage and strength is born in Palestine. Free Palestine!

amazing writer and story

It’s such a privilege to hear the author reading. Marvelous performance and moving narration. Another work of art.

Beautifully tragic

A must read! Historical fiction but it feels like it could be happening right now.

عاشت نهر

I finished the book in 4 days .. i wanted to hear the Kuwait’s life details that took me back to that time

Beautiful

One of the most beautiful yet heartbreaking stories I’ve read. This story humanizes Palestinians, whose humanity and struggles are mostly neglected by the mainstream media. I fell in love with the characters and I will never forget this story. I also learned a lot. This was an amazing book. I was sad to have it end.