Out of it

Gaza is being bombed. Rashid wakes to discover he's got a scholarship to London, the escape route he's been waiting for. Meanwhile, his twin sister, Iman, frustrated by the atrocities and inaction around her, grabs recklessly at an opportunity to make a difference. Sabri, the oldest brother works on a history of Palestine from his wheelchair as their mother pickles vegetables and feuds with their neighbours. Out of It follows Rashid and Iman as they try to forge places for themselves in the midst of occupation, religious fundamentalism and the divisions between Palestinian factions. It tells of family secrets, unlikely love stories and unburied tragedies as it captures the frustrations and energies of the modern Arab World. 'I always find it difficult to describe what Gaza is like ... It's hard to get the claustrophobia of siege across to an audience. This debut novel from British Palestinian Selma Dabbagh, set in Gaza City during the second intifada in the 00s, does that well. Dabbagh is gentle in her treatment of the Mujahed family, chronicling their hopes and dreams as well as their suffering' Guardian, Five of the best books to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict