Overview

Winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction A bold, psychologically rich novel of identity, exile, and resistance from one of Palestine's most vital literary voices--written entirely from behind bars. Nur, a young Palestinian refugee from a camp near Ramallah, is often mistaken for an Ashkenazi Jew. Fluent in Hebrew and with a degree in archaeology, he dreams of freedom beyond the fences of the camp--and of writing a novel about Mary Magdalene based on the Gnostic Gospels. When he discovers an Israeli ID card in the pocket of a secondhand coat, he assumes a false identity and is hired for an archaeological dig near Megiddo. Passing as an Israeli, he moves through a world previously off-limits, gaining insight into the lives and beliefs of those he's been taught to see as enemies. But as Nur's borrowed identity deepens, so does the rift within: between Nur, the Palestinian, and ""Ur,"" the Israeli. By exploring this internal conflict, unfolding alongside friendships and love affairs, Bassem Khandaqji offers a meditation on the personal toll of occupation and the elusive desire to belong somewhere--fully, honestly, and without fear.

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Reviews

""A Mask, the Colour of the Sky fuses the personal with the political in innovative ways. It ventures into experimenting with new narrative forms to explore three types of consciousness: that of the self, the Other, and the world. It dissects a complex, bitter reality of family fragmentation, displacement, genocide, and racism. The strands of history, myth, and the present day are delicately woven together in a narrative that pulses with compassion in the face of dehumanisation, and is stirred by a desire for freedom from oppression, both at an individual and societal level. A Mask, the Colour of the Sky declares love and friendship as central to human identity above all other affiliations.""--Judges Mention, International Prize for Arabic Fiction ""An invaluable source of reflections on the folds and fractures in the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis.""--La Stampa ""It's a novel written in prison, about a world whose events take place almost entirely outside of prison, but in a larger prison, a prison that's cramped with questions, violence, distortion, the obliteration of facts, and an attempt to bury an entire history and people. It's a novel worth reading for its intense experimentation and aesthetics, and for the kind of questions it raises about identity and identities.""--Al Jazeera ""[Bassem Khandakji] is not afraid to enter the Palestinian minefield, especially when the idea relates to the occupied other and the life, ideas, and practices taking place within its corridors.""--WAFA (Palestine) ""There is no historical sanctity in Basem Khandaji's novels...this gives his novels a special fragrance: a blend of the scent of a tightly sealed past and the scent of a bloody present.""--Al-Quds Al-Arabi

""A Mask, the Colour of the Sky fuses the personal with the political in innovative ways. It ventures into experimenting with new narrative forms to explore three types of consciousness: that of the self, the Other, and the world. It dissects a complex, bitter reality of family fragmentation, displacement, genocide, and racism. The strands of history, myth, and the present day are delicately woven together in a narrative that pulses with compassion in the face of dehumanisation, and is stirred by a desire for freedom from oppression, both at an individual and societal level. A Mask, the Colour of the Sky declares love and friendship as central to human identity above all other affiliations.""--Judges Mention, International Prize for Arabic Fiction ""An invaluable source of reflections on the folds and fractures in the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis.""--La Stampa ""A story of identity, exile, and resistance.""--Lit Hub ""It's a novel written in prison, about a world whose events take place almost entirely outside of prison, but in a larger prison, a prison that's cramped with questions, violence, distortion, the obliteration of facts, and an attempt to bury an entire history and people. It's a novel worth reading for its intense experimentation and aesthetics, and for the kind of questions it raises about identity and identities.""--Al Jazeera ""[Bassem Khandakji] is not afraid to enter the Palestinian minefield, especially when the idea relates to the occupied other and the life, ideas, and practices taking place within its corridors.""--WAFA (Palestine) ""There is no historical sanctity in Basem Khandaji's novels...this gives his novels a special fragrance: a blend of the scent of a tightly sealed past and the scent of a bloody present.""--Al-Quds Al-Arabi ""The novel develops into an intriguing discourse on the nature of identity.... This leaves readers with plenty to chew on.""--Publishers Weekly

Author Information

Bassem Khandaqji, born in 1983 in Nablus, is a Palestinian novelist, poet, and journalist. Arrested in 2004 at the age of twenty-one for his political activities, he continued to write from prison, producing a body of work that has earned wide recognition across the Arab world. His novels are known for their lyrical prose, meticulous research, and deep engagement with Palestinian history and memory. Today, Khandaqji is regarded as one of the most distinctive literary voices of his generation. International human rights observers have long criticized his arrest, trial, and imprisonment. He was released from prison in 2025, one year after A Mask the Color of the Sky won the prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Addie Leak is a literary translator and editor. She translates from French, Arabic, and Spanish. Her work has appeared in publications such as Asymptote, Words Without Borders, and The Common.

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