The Tale of a Wall

The Tale of a Wall charts a deeply personal journey through the conflict that has defined Nasser Abu Srour’s life… extraordinary… his humanity shines through, even as he endures an incarceration with no end in sight… his poetic sensibility brings freshness to the telling of the well-rehearsed story of this long-running conflict: we see it anew – Lydia Wilson * Guardian *Nasser Abu Srour fights for everybody’s freedom… thoughtful and honest… The personal and political are tightly entwined… brave… reveals that perhaps love can offer a certain kind of liberation too: a means to rise above the past, the present and possibly the future – Samir El-Youssef * The Times Literary Supplement *For me this is the strongest thing I’ve read about the heartbreak and relentless courage that is Palestine. A young man is sentenced to prison in an almost Kafka-like way, a story without details. But we become familiar with how he endures even finding love and passion (with a visitor to the prison) from his cell. The intimacy of it all, even the way the interior of his struggle transforms in time is robust and politically astute. I extracted from his marvellous telling that love honours all that is not killing in the world. It is a rough and hands down beautiful book – Eileen MylesThe Tale of a Wall is the reason we have literature. Nasser has made art out of poison with his honesty and golden pen. He brings to light the specificity of experience of the Palestinian prisoner in a manner that makes every reader think about the incarcerated in their own countries without forgetting Palestine. It helps us understand the consequences on others when we do not wield whatever power we each hold for solidarity. A profound and important work – Sarah SchulmanA stunning book. A poetic and remarkable account of decades of imprisonment and the effect it can have on the mind, body and soul. This is a story of unimaginable loss, but also of survival – Sally HaydenNasser Abu Srour doesn’t allow his long incarceration in an Israeli prison to break his spirit. He turns to the wall of his cell that is intended to confine him into his path to freedom, and in the process, out of the darkness of his cell produces a luminous memoir – Raja Shehadeh, author of We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian MemoirA unique, lyrical exploration of what his inhumane confinement has taught him about resistance, love, lies, forgiveness, and the complicated struggle for liberation of his fractured, occupied land. Rather than allow the many walls surrounding him from childhood to break him down, he has turned them into darkly luminous companions on a journey into the heart of cruelty and redemption – Ariel Dorfman, author of The Suicide MuseumFierce and lyrical, Nasser Abu Srour’s memoir bears witness to struggle and resilience—both his own, and that of the Palestinian people. It’s also a devastating testament to the power of hope, and of its loss – Claire MessudIn contemplating the meaning of freedom, and the prison walls enclosing him, Nasser Abu Srour has produced a richly emotional and affecting memoir. His poetic prose, lyrically translated by Luke Leafgren, ranges far beyond physical confines to evoke steadfastness and universal human dignity, through the intellectual curiosity of a writer ‘born into a family on the margins, living in a marginal place filled with marginal people.’ Its resonance, and Abu Srour’s vision, are far from marginal – Matthew Teller, author of Nine Quarters of JerusalemAn extraordinary memoir. Abu Srour is not just a witness of his personal life but a witness to one of the major tragedies of our times – Amara Lakhous, author of Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio

Nasser Abu Srour was arrested in 1993 and sentenced to life in prison. While incarcerated, Abu Srour completed the final semester of a bachelor’s degree in English from Bethlehem University, and obtained a master’s degree in political science from Al-Quds University. The Tale of a Wall is his first book to appear in English.

Luke Leafgren is an Assistant Dean of Harvard College. He has translated seven novels from Arabic, including Muhsin Al-Ramli’s The President’s Gardens, for which he received the 2018 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.