Daybreak in Gaza - Stories of Palestinian Lives and Culture
Matthew Teller, Mahmoud Muna
Publisher: Saqi Books
Summary
Gaza, in story form. The past, present and future of a world now in ruins. Gaza's physical fabric has been shattered – but Gazans, by their very survival, preserve its culture, which persists in words, music, recipes, histories, and memories of places and happenings, as well as in each other. Daybreak in Gaza preserves the heritage that has been lost and the heritage that can never be lost. It showcases the illustrious Gazans of the past, in stories and remembrances woven among first-hand insights from Gazans today. This timely and necessary book lets us look past appalling headlines to reveal the breadth of Gaza's social landscape and the depth of its history. Daybreak in Gaza weaves to and fro across time and space, breaking the stereotypes of poverty, destruction and war to evoke place through the voices of its people. Contemporary vignettes of artists, acrobats, chefs, shopkeepers and medics rub shoulders with vivid accounts of the warriors and travellers of old, humanising Gazans as ordinary storytellers living lives rich with culture and meaning. Daybreak in Gaza satisfies a global readership's appetite to understand Gaza and Gazans as a place and people – to understand what it means to its inhabitants and to those who have come to know it. Daybreak in Gaza offers a full and rounded picture of a place at the margins of the global imagination, voiced by the people of Gaza themselves.