Reading the Present as History

Set in a hauntingly plausible future, where Israel has marked a century of Palestinian occupation, Thaer Husien’s debut novel, Beside the Sickle Moon: A Palestinian Story, opens with a poetic, sonically disorienting line: “I hear the rhythmic pin-drop of muffled revenge from tunnels being dug 20 meters beneath my feet.” This is the world of Laeth [...]