And then there were none

Palestinian writer Ibtisam Azem, in her second novel, takes what she calls ‘that one ardent wish’ to its final conclusion: all Palestinians vanish one day. The Book of Disappearance was longlisted for this year’s International Booker. But no one could have predicted the scale of what is unfolding in Gaza, she says

- Kanika Sharma

What is the fate of Gaza? What will it be? In the 77 years since the formation of Israel, there have been no clear answers.

The newest plan for its future envisions a gleaming city in the desert, one that is being called a “Riviera of the Middle East’. Images from the news show starving children and bombed-out hospitals. A media tent has been bombed and journalists killed. There is now talk of Israel seizing Gaza City.

Eleven years ago, when the Palestinian journalist and writer Ibtisam Azem (above right) wrote her work of speculative fiction, she couldn't have predicted that Al-generated images of this region, cleared of its people and populated instead by luxury high-rises and berths for yachts, would be posted online by the President of the United States.

In her book, nonetheless, she takes what she calls that “one ardent wish” to its final conclusion: all Palestinians vanish one day.

The Book of Disappearance was written in 2014, translated from the Arabic by the Iraqi writer Sinan Antoon (below right; also, incidentally, her husband), released in the UK in 2024, and longlisted for the International Booker Prize this year.

In it, the protagonist Alaa Assaf, a cameraman, vanishes along with all other Palestinians, halfway through the tale. From then on, the story is taken over by Ariel Levy, an Israeli journalist who lived next door.

After the vanishings, Levy goes into his home and finds a diary of his memories, the memories of his grandmother, and details of the life of a Palestinian in Israel.

This is Azem's second novel. She lives in New York City. “Storytelling,” she says, “is part of surviving.” Excerpts from an interview.

How did this book come about?