The Parisian
Isabella Hammad
Publisher: Grove Press
Summary
At once intimate and expansive, The Parisian is an elegant and finely rendered historical epic that reads like a classic; it's a big, important book akin to The Sympathizer and Cold Mountain in its epic portrayal of a country, a war, and an eraA sweeping, multi-generational love story spanning Palestine, Montpellier, Paris, and Cairo in the first half of the twentieth century, exploring themes of identity, family, East vs. West, war, love, and betrayalIsabella Hammad is a major new voice in contemporary fiction with huge prize-winning potential; destined to become a modern classic, The Parisian introduces a fully-formed talent, for fans of the novels of V.S. Naipaul and E.M. ForsterIt is one of the first fictional accounts of this critical era in the Middle East, inspired by her own family’s storyHammad is already a recognized talent: she is the recipient of The Paris Review’s prestigious Plimpton Prize for her short story, “Mr. Can’aan”Her writing has appeared in Conjunctions and The Paris ReviewWe’ve already received praise from Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Foer, Bret Anthony Johnston, and Nathan Englander, with more to come from Bradford Morrow, Joy Williams, and Rabih AlameddineHammad is widely-connected in the literary world; Deborah Landau, Rick Moody, Anne Carson, Mona Simpson, and Jeffrey Eugenides among others can help spread the word about the bookHammad will be one of Grove's two authors at the Winter Institute this year in AlbuquerqueThe book was preempted in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Auctions are ongoing in Germany and France. Jonathan Cape will publish simultaneously with Grove.