Novelist tells the story of growing up as a Palestinian in Jerusalem

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Shabbat Goy is a novel by Palestinian author Aref Husseini. It tells the story of Nabih, a young man growing up in the Old City of Jerusalem. Narrated from Nabih’s perspective, the story depicts his lack of choice in maneuvering bizarre situations. Nabih is alienated by the political slogans and an autocratic system that insists on restricting him as a passive server in the Israeli labor market: known as a “Shabbat Goy.”

In this discussion, we talk about the challenges of living in Jerusalem, the publishing journey, and the dynamics of growing up in an area of the world that has seen so much conflict.

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