We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I (Hardback)
A Palestinian Memoir
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A subtle psychological portrait of the author's relationship with his father during the twentieth-century battle for Palestinian human rights
FINALIST FOR THE US NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS 2023 FOR NONFICTION
Aziz Shehadeh was many things: lawyer, activist, and political detainee, he was also the father of bestselling author and activist Raja. In this new and searingly personal memoir, Raja Shehadeh unpicks the snags and complexities of their relationship.
A vocal and fearless opponent, Aziz resists under the British mandatory period, then under Jordan, and, finally, under Israel. As a young man, Raja fails to recognise his father's courage and, in turn, his father does not appreciate Raja's own efforts in campaigning for Palestinian human rights. When Aziz is murdered in 1985, it changes Raja irrevocably.
This is not only the story of the battle against the various oppressors of the Palestinians, but a moving portrait of a particular father and son relationship.
We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I (Ebook)
A Palestinian Memoir
Buy from
A subtle psychological portrait of the author's relationship with his father during the twentieth-century battle for Palestinian human rights
A FINALIST FOR THE US NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2023 FOR NONFICTION
'Profoundly personal as well as historically significant ... In his moral clarity and baring of the heart, Shehadeh recalls writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Primo Levi' Hisham Matar, New York Times
Aziz Shehadeh was many things: lawyer, activist, and political detainee, he was also the father of bestselling author and activist Raja. In this new and searingly personal memoir, Raja Shehadeh unpicks the snags and complexities of their relationship.
A vocal and fearless opponent, Aziz resists under the British mandatory period, then under Jordan, and, finally, under Israel. As a young man, Raja fails to recognise his father's courage and, in turn, his father does not appreciate Raja's own efforts in campaigning for Palestinian human rights. When Aziz is murdered in 1985, it changes Raja irrevocably.
This is not only the story of the battle against the various oppressors of the Palestinians, but a moving portrait of a particular father and son relationship.
We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I (Paperback)
A Palestinian Memoir
Buy from
A subtle psychological portrait of the author's relationship with his father during the twentieth-century battle for Palestinian human rights
A FINALIST FOR THE US NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2023 FOR NONFICTION
'Profoundly personal as well as historically significant ... In his moral clarity and baring of the heart, Shehadeh recalls writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Primo Levi' Hisham Matar, New York Times
Aziz Shehadeh was many things: lawyer, activist, and political detainee, he was also the father of bestselling author and activist Raja. In this new and searingly personal memoir, Raja Shehadeh unpicks the snags and complexities of their relationship.
A vocal and fearless opponent, Aziz resists under the British mandatory period, then under Jordan, and, finally, under Israel. As a young man, Raja fails to recognise his father's courage and, in turn, his father does not appreciate Raja's own efforts in campaigning for Palestinian human rights. When Aziz is murdered in 1985, it changes Raja irrevocably.
This is not only the story of the battle against the various oppressors of the Palestinians, but a moving portrait of a particular father and son relationship.
Reviews for We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I
Rachel Aspden Guardian
Lara Marlowe Irish Times
Observer
Gerald Butt Church Times
Praise for the author:
'Palestine's greatest prose writer
'
Observer
Guardian
Prospect
Colm Tóibín
Rachel Kushner
Raja Shehadeh
Raja Shehadeh is Palestine's leading writer. He is also a lawyer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books including Strangers in the House and Occupation Diaries and winner of the 2008 Orwell Prize for Palestinian Walks (all Profile). He lives in Ramallah in Palestine.
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