Wondrous Journeys in Strange Lands

In a village in Palestine long ago the women are not allowed to leave or learn to read, and the elders have banned bright clothes because they consider them extravagant.

Here, at the foot of the mountains, the villagers live under a curse where women and animals are only able to give birth to males after one of the men in the village fled to marry a girl in the city who was rumoured to be a jinn.

Qamar, whose father was born in the village, breaks free of the repressive rules put in place and sets off on a voyage around the world in a tale written by Palestinian author Sonia Nimr.

In a series of adventures, which require a stretch in the imagination, Qamar travels from Jerusalem to Gaza to Cairo and Tangier. Along the way she is sold into slavery by highway robbers, sails with a pirate posing as a man, before eventually settling down to sell books.

This book is on the shortlist for the Palestine Book Awards 2021, please click here to read the full review on the Palestine book awards site.