rooster's eye

Neither of them knows the other: Hadeel, whose work is exhibited in a Paris gallery, and Louise, whose paintings he displays there. Between them is him. And with him, his grandfather's stories about the 1948 agreements and Tarshihata.
Louise attracted him, though he believes she was indifferent to his Palestinian identity. Hadeel attracted him, though he believes she was. His words about each of them hint at the other. And his words about them both betray his inability to recapture the story of his grandfather's demise, a quest that may transform into a state of exile, a state of endless wandering. The novel revolves around a series of romantic relationships between the protagonist, Samir, and two women in Paris. The first is Hadeel, a French woman of Palestinian origin who runs a gallery in the city. The second is Louise, a French painter whose paintings are later exhibited in Hadeel's gallery. Although they know each other, neither woman is aware of the connection between their respective relationships and Samir, the Palestinian refugee in France, until later in the story. The novel raises several questions about the diaspora and the impact of identity on personal relationships, as the obsession with Palestinian origin remains present and is even manifested in the character of the protagonist who has broken free from the stereotypical refugee identity, as Samir brings with him to modern Paris the story of his grandfather who left Tarshiha in 1948.