Wādī al-Ḥawārith Tawfiq Fayyad A Novel

Description

Set against the historical upheavals that transformed Palestine, Wādī al-Ḥawārith explores the relationship between land, memory, displacement, and resistance. Through the intertwined lives of Palestinian villagers and refugees, the novel reconstructs a world threatened by dispossession and political violence. Aisha, one of its central figures, embodies the resilience of a people whose attachment to their homeland survives exile, loss, and suffering. Her memories of al-Haram, her family, and her encounters with those responsible for the destruction of her village connect personal tragedy with collective history.

The narrative moves between the British Mandate period and the later lives of the displaced, exposing the violence of land confiscation, forced expulsion, and the destruction of village life. Awwad’s resistance to dispossession, his arrest and execution, and the loss of al-Haram become central episodes in this history. The novel also examines divided loyalties through Saqr, a soldier torn between military duty and solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters. Through vivid descriptions of villages, orchards, religious traditions, family bonds, and the sea.