Behind You Is the Sea: A Novel [Paperback]

2025 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST ANISFIELD-WOLF BOOK AWARD FINALIST

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A beautiful portrait of a family reaching for their dreams while holding on to their roots. Publishers Weekly

Each chapter reads like a small masterpiece. Kirkus Reviews(starred review)

An exciting debut novel of interconnected stories that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Baltimorefrom young activists in conflict with their traditional parents to the poor who clean for the richlives which intersect across divides of class, generation, and religion.

Funny and touching,Behind You Is the Seabrings us into the homes and lives of three main familiesthe Baladis, the Salamehs, and the AmmarsPalestinian immigrants whove all found a different welcome in America.

Their various fates and struggles cause their community dynamic to sizzle and sometimes explode: The wealthy Ammar family employs young Maysoon Baladi, whose own family struggles financially, to clean up after their spoiled teenagers. Meanwhile, Marcus Salameh confronts his father in an effort to protect his younger sister for dishonoring their name. Only a trip to Palestine, where Marcus experiences an unexpected and dramatic transformation, can bridge this seemingly unbridgeable divide between lco