Overview

A novel of identity and resistance from one of Palestine's most striking literary voices-written entirely from behind bars Nur, a 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 fence, 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 and gains insight into the lives of those he's been taught to perceive as enemies. As Nur's borrowed identity deepens, so does the rift within. Through an exploration of this internal conflict, Bassem Khandaqji's Arabic Booker-winning novel offers a meditation on the personal toll of occupation and the elusive desire to belong-fully, honestly, and without fear. ""A Mask the Colour of the Sky is a haunting study of identity under occupation. Tracing the fragmentation of the self, Khandaqji reveals colonial power at its most insidious.""― Saleem Haddad, author of Guapa and Floodlines ""A Mask, the Colour of the Sky fuses the personal with the political in innovative ways."" ― International Prize for Arabic Fiction

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9781787706323

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Reviews

“A Mask, the Colour of the Sky fuses the personal with the political in innovative ways.” * International Prize for Arabic Fiction * “A novel worth reading for its intense experimentation and aesthetics, and for the kind of questions it raises about identity and identities.” * Al Jazeera *

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 Colour of the Sky won the prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Addie Leak is a literary translator and editor, with an MFA in literary translation. She translates from French, Arabic, and Spanish. Her work has appeared in publications such as Asymptote and Words Without Borders.

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