The Tale Of A Wall (reflections On Hope And Freedom)

By (author) Srour, Nasser Abu; Translated by Leafgren Luke
Description:

A Palestinian prisoner’s memoir of thirty years’ captivity, and a love letter to the wall that encircles and comforts him

This is the story of a wall that somehow chose me as the witness of what it said and did

Nasser Abu Srour grew up in a refugee camp in the West Bank, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. As a child, he played in its shadow and explored the little world within the camp. As he grew older, he began questioning the boundaries that limited his existence. Later, sentenced to life in prison, with no hope of parole, he found himself surrounded by a physical wall.

This is the story of how, over thirty years in captivity, he crafted a new definition of freedom. Turning to writings by philosophers as varied as Derrida, Kirkegaard and Freud, he begins to let go of freedom as a question that demanded an answer, in order to preserve it as a dream. The wall becomes his stable point of reference, his anchor, both physically and psychologically.

As each year brings with it new waves of releases of prisoners, he dares to hope, and seeks refuge in the wall when these hopes are dashed. And, in a small miracle, he finds love with a lawyer from the outside – while in her absence, the wall is his solace and his curse.

A testimony of how the most difficult of circumstances can build a person up instead of tearing them down, The Tale of a Wall is an extraordinary record of the vast confinement and power of the mind.

Review quote:
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
Review quote:
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
Review quote:
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
Review quote:
The 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
Review quote:
A 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
Review quote:
Nasser 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
Review quote:
A unique, lyrical exploration of what his inhumane confinement h