The People of Forever are not Afraid

'How to carry on living while brutality is invading the most intimate spaces of one’s being is the central concern of The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, the extraordinary debut novel by Shani Boianjiu… The People of Forever is a modern anthem for doomed youth, a brilliant anatomisation of the yearning for normality in a situation that renders it impossible. Again and again, Boianjiu subverts simplistic ways of thinking about victims and oppressors in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reminding us that there are heart-rending casualties on both sides of the divide, even if the forms of wounding are not equally visible. If you still need convincing, read this book' Financial Times

'The focus of Boianjiu’s book isn’t those horrible events: it is the tension that exists just outside the line of fire, the moment before a crisis erupts. Boianjiu’s best writing happens as the book progresses, when the teens let their minds wander into what they have experienced, and imagine an apocalyptic future for their country' The Times

'A memorably bold novel... Somewhere between the sardonic humour of Etgar Keret and the epic storytelling of David Grossman, Boianjiu has created a brave, beautiful, political literature that is entirely her own' Sunday Telegraph

A searing first novel about three young women coming of age experiencing the 'absurdities of life and love on the precipice of violence' (Vogue)