ARGONAUT BOOKS

Join us for a relaxed chat about a different fiction title every month!

Our pick to read this time around is 'The Book of Disappearance' by Ibtisam Azem 

Alaa is haunted by his grandmother's memories of being displaced from Jaffa and becoming a refugee in her homeland after the Nakba. Ariel, Alaa’s neighbour and friend, is a liberal Zionist, critical of the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza yet faithful to the project of Israel. When he wakes up one morning to find that all Palestinians have suddenly vanished, Ariel begins searching for clues to the secret of their collective disappearance.

That search, and Ariel’s reactions to it, intimately reveal the fissures at the heart of the Palestinian question. Between the stories of Alaa and Ariel are the people of Jaffa and Tel Aviv – café patrons, radio commentators, flower-cutters – against whose ordinary lives these fissures and questions play out. 

FAQs

How long does each book club last?

Each book club is an hour and a half, ending around 8.30pm.

Do I have to finish reading the book before coming along?

Ideally, but no! If you can't, or don't want to, finish the book, we still want to hear your thoughts. We will however spoil every aspect of the book during discussion.