“Haneen once compared Palestine to an exposed part of an electronic network, where someone has cut the rubber coating with a knife to show the wires and currents underneath... That this place revealed something about the whole world.”

This book is so wholesomely great that I find it difficult to review. Enter Ghost, nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024, has wonderful writing, a poignant story, and incredible character depth, set against the backdrop of Palestine under restrictions and military occupation, permanently abused and restless.

 

Sonia Nasir is a Palestinian-British artist living in London. Divorced and going through a breakup, she decides to visit Haifa and spend time with her sister, Haneen. She wants to get away and reconnect with her sister and her ancestral homeland. While both British, Haneen had decided to live in Palestine and was a teacher in Tel Aviv, and Sonia remained in the UK and made a life as an artist. When she arrives in Haifa, she finds herself estranged from Haneen and falls into an internal conflict, struggling to redefine her identity as a Palestinian under the ever-present threat of violence.  

While in Palestine, Sonia meets Mariam, Haneen’s close friend, a theatre director who works on a production of Hamlet in Arabic in the West Bank, an endeavour supported by funds provided by her brother, one of the Palestinian political leaders. Mariam doesn’t have an actress to play Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, so she proposes to Sonia to take on the role. Reluctant at first, as she is not confident in her mastering Arabic, she finally agrees to support with the rehearsals, and, later on, she decides to stay. 

Sonia’s fractured relationship with her sister is one of the main threads of the narrative. At a certain point, the sisters stopped talking about their lives. Their estrangement reflects, I believe, the broader division within Palestinian society, both geographical and emotional. Sonia’s internal struggle mirrors the fragmented Palestinian experience, highlighting the yearning for a unified identity. Haneen stayed, while Sonia avoided Palestine. However, their feelings for the country are similar in intensity and they reconnect over their shared love for Palestine, which allows tough conversations to happen.

Through Sonia’s exploration of her identity, the reader experiences the vibrant Palestinian culture, the rich history, and the ever-present reality of checkpoints, curfews, and brutality under the oppressor. This juxtaposition emphasises the weight of history on the present and the determination of Palestinians to maintain their cultural identity. To exist, even under the ever-present possibility of violence. Hammad doesn’t shy away from portraying the harsh reality of the occupation, from microaggressions to murders (and to genocide). The threat of violence hangs heavy with every page, even in the simple context of playing Hamlet in Arabic. This reminds readers of the precariousness of daily life for Palestinians. This constant tension adds a layer of urgency to Sonia’s journey, as both the production of Hamlet and her transformation occur under the shadow of a volatile reality.

The play within a play is brilliant. Sonia’s role as Gertrude in an Arabic Hamlet thus becomes a powerful metaphor for her search for identity. The exploration of Hamlet’s themes of betrayal, family dysfunction, and the search for meaning resonates with Sonia’s struggles and the ongoing conflict in Palestine. Staging the play becomes a defiant act of resistance, a reclamation of cultural expression in the face of political suppression, suggesting that the play is also a metaphor for the transformative power of arts amidst political turmoil.

Enter Ghost is a timely and thought-provoking novel, the more relevant considering the Gaza genocide, that is happening 𝐧𝐨𝐰. Hammad’s storytelling allows readers to experience the complexities of life in Palestine through Sonia’s perceptive eyes and, perhaps, allows the reader to understand the historical context that led to the events in October and see who the real oppressor is and has been ever since they landed on the shores of Palestine. This book is a poignant exploration of identity, the transformative power of art, and the enduring human spirit in the face of oppression.