A book full of warmth and humour that redefines Palestine and its people.
Selma Dabbagh is a British Palestinian writer based in London. Her short stories have been included in a number of anthologies, including those published by Granta and International PEN. They have also been nominated for the International PEN David TK Wong Award and the Pushcart Prize. Out of It is her first novel.
Driven, fast-paced, edgy... A narrative of Gaza, it brings a very welcome new voice and new consciousness to the Palestinian Story -- Ahdaf Soueif The Guardian 20111126 This brave, important new writer draws us right into the beating heart of contemporary Arab life in all its vigour and complexity -- Maggie Gee Excellent... Vivid and moving ... Compelling Independent on Sunday 20111127 a punchy first novel... Beautifully observed... the plot races and the voices are strong. The reader follows each person down the chosen path and, crucially, cares what becomes of them The Times 20111215 Out of It, is a gripping tale of dispossession and belonging, treachery, loyalty and bravery that redefines Palestine and its people The Observer 20120401 A breezy, thriller-esque debut from the British-Palestinian author that gets under the skin of the situation in Gaza Metro 20111216 Incendiary -- Mariella Frostrup Open Book, BBC Radio 20121112 Making sense of Palestine and its relentlessly repressed people is never going to be easy, but Dabbagh has crafted wonderfully perceptive and gripping novel surrounding three siblings and their Palestinian roots -- Henry Sutton Daily Mirror 20111202 An original and vivid voice. Full of energy, this is a new and welcome take on the Palestinian story -- Ahdaf Soueif There is a sense of political urgency here, an anger and energy that Dabbagh refuses to temper or shy away from Times Literary Supplement It's a wise, wary but also humorous meditation on factionalism within families Voyager 20111201 Dabbagh is adept at capturing the alienation that descends, a condition that persists even after its victims have left Gaza's claustrophobic environs ... Dabbagh is already an accomplished short-story writer, and her talent for nailing detail is evident here, too ... its rich narrative treatment takes this novel beyond mere agitprop. The author's assured command of her material means she can switch registers with ease, interweaving escalating tension and welcome humour - Dabbagh herself scores highly with her debut novel Independent 20121201 an original, engaging voice, and this is a mesmerising story ... uncompromising and witty, this novel is a window into another world -- Kate Saunders Saga One of the many strengths of Selma Dabbagh's writing is its unerringly precise sense of place ... This is a very successful debut novel. Like a good short story, Out of It manages to fit in a great deal without feeling crowded... The writing is both literary and accessible, fast-paced, passionate, exuberant and heart-lurching. We'll be hearing much more from Selma Dabbagh -- Robin Yassin-Kassab The Guardian Selma Dabbagh's pacy, beautifully written first novel Out of It takes you to the heart of life for the young in Palestine today - as well as making viscerally real young (and old) Palestinian characters exiled by history from the home they long for ... Sometimes funny, always gripping, its ending works as a metaphor for the world's wider conflicts between rich and poor. Don't miss it. -- Maggie Gee Wasafiri She creates a textured portrait of what is to inherit a conflict. The author also attains that thing to which so many writers aspire: a book that is much more than the sum of its words ... the novel's triumph lies in the question Dabbagh raises while developing her central narrative... -- Niamh Fleming-Farrell The Daily star (Lebanon) Selma Dabbagh offers a fresh view on Palestinian people ... Out of It is a well-crafted tale that ponders the question of how to constructively bring about change -- Patrick Allington Adelaide Advertiser Timely ... Her characters reflect the younger, educated Arab generation fighting for their democratic rights -- Annie Brown Daily Record (Scotland) 20120311 A rich and rewarding portrait of Gaza ... a few pages into Selma Dabbagh's terrific novel that I realised that I had never read an account of how people actually live in Gaza. Selma Dabbagh has written an accomplished, compelling and enormously readable book. If it is not nominated for, or does not win, several first novel awards then the judging panels will simply not have been looking in the right places -- Sholto Byrnes The National (UAE) 20120316 This is the first novel of British Palestinian writer Selma Dabbagh, and it is quite remarkable in many ways, not least because it seems so real. The sense of reality is partly created by remoulding actual events and known Palestinian personages in novelistic form, and partly by Dabbagh's hard-hitting and versatile writing style ... Out of It is a very welcome addition to the newly revitalised trend of telling the Palestinian story via well-written, compelling literature. Now the new generation is making their voices heard. In Dabbagh's case, the result is both shocking and reassuring -- Sally Bland The Jordan Times 20120226 Extraordinary -- Karma Nabulsi PalFest 20120315 This brave, important new writer draws us right into the beating heart of contemporary Arab life in all its vigour and complexity -- Maggie Gee An original, engaging voice, and this is a mesmerising story ... uncompromising and witty, this novel is a window into another world Saga Heartrending ... The author creates flesh-and-blood characters, not merely virtuous ciphers ... she allows the reader to appreciate the family as ordinary people trapped in previous and present-day extraordinary situations Morning Star Selma Dabbagh has managed to produce one of the best books I have read on the Israel-Palestine conflict ... It is one of the most honest and riveting tales of life under occupation I have read Socialist Review
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