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Enter Ghost
- Narrated by: Nadia Albina
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
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Enter Ghost
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
After years away from her family's homeland, and healing from an affair with an established director, stage actress Sonia Nasir returns to Palestine to visit her older sister Haneen. Though the siblings grew up spending summers at their family home in Haifa, Sonia hasn't been back since the second intifada and the deaths of her grandparents. While Haneen stayed and made a life commuting to Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia remained in London to focus on her burgeoning acting career and now dissolute marriage. On her return, she finds her relationship to Palestine is fragile, both bone-deep and new.
Once at Haneen's, Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing Gertude's lines in classical Arabic and spending more time in Ramallah than in Haifa with a dedicated group of men who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, each want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer it becomes clear just how many invasive and violent obstacles stand before a troupe of Palestinian actors. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.
A stunning rendering of present-day Palestine, Enter Ghost is a story of diaspora, displacement, and the connection to be found in family and shared resistance. Timely, thoughtful, and passionate, Isabella Hammad's highly anticipated second novel is an exquisite feat, an unforgettable story of artistry under occupation.
Critic reviews
"Beautifully written, poignant yet forceful, thoughtful and thought provoking, but above all challenging the reader to respond to the question facing the characters in the novel: how to live under occupation while preserving your dignity and humanity? Hammad answers this question through taking us into the hearts and minds of the characters in the novel and through that into the heart and mind of Palestine." (Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran)
"Enter Ghost is a masterful, deeply convincing portrait of the all-too-real consequences of political theater - in both senses. A moving and important novel that presses upon the urgent question of how we ought to live in the midst of the rubble (and ongoing chaos) of political crisis." (Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift)
"Outstanding. Next-level. Aesthetically, intellectually, emotionally and culturally satisfying. It is astonishing but true that Isabella Hammad is incapable of striking a false note. She immerses her heroine in volatile territory with the accuracy, compassion and coolness of a surgical knife sliding into a diseased body. The result is a stunning beauty - an eye-opening, uplifting novel that grants its vulnerable cast and their endeavors a rare and graceful dignity." (Leila Aboulela, author of Minaret)
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What listeners say about Enter Ghost
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kathy
- 22-03-24
So incredibly atmospheric
This book gently brings you in to a place and time you have glimpsed from the outside but certainly can’t comprehend. The story lulls you into a feeling of ordinary in the truly extraordinary day to day life and how it builds on the story and more importantly the atmosphere is truly skilful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Carol Grose
- 03-07-23
Excellent
This novel intertwines art and politics, love and loss with beauty and relevance. The narration navigated the forms, allusions, and different languages beautifully.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-03-24
Brilliant Story
I’m impressed by how it’s deeply emotional and political at the same time. It provides a rare understanding of how ‘the inside Palestinians’ or Arab of the 48 deal with their dual identities. It also provides a view of some of the disturbing realities of living in The West Bank.
Great performance by Nadia except for the Arabic reading of whole sentences, I couldn’t understand them although my first language is Arabic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- jackjustreading
- 22-03-24
A book everyone should read
If this book had been around in 1978, when I did Hamlet in school; the play would have had a much deeper meaning for me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Squarepusher Fan
- 31-08-23
Wonderful novel wonderfully read
I hadn't tried a new writer for a long time and liked the look of this book which featured in the new writers Granta list. I am so pleased I did: Enter Ghost is an insightful and compelling drama about an ad hoc presentation of Shakespeare's Hamlet in Palestine. What is so impressive is the deep understanding of the Arab Israeli conflict and the daily sufferings of both sides (mainly Palestinian) as well as the theatrical actor's profession. The reader reads the Arabic and Hebrew beautifully and is obviously a native speaker. Furthermore it's one of the best performed audio books in terms of chacterisation particularly the I character playing Gertrude, her sister and the director Miriam. Very slight gripes that the parts of the book which are written like a theatre play don't work well in audio book format plus I felt the male characters weren't as well developed and differentiated as the women.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 27-03-24
A book to be listened to
This has to be one of my favourite readings of a book, Nadia’s performance of the narration is absolutely superb and truly is the reason I adored experiencing this story. I will find myself returning to this audiobook I’m sure of it, thank you.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Zulekha Saqib
- 16-12-23
An intelligent novel.
Isabella Hammad wrote an intelligent novel that challenges the reader to think about one of the most pressing issues of our time.
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