"This is a revolutionary love story, set in the present and written in a transparent prose style that doesn’t give exaggeration, embellishment or sentimentality any room. Its frank politics, and its cold appraisal of whiteness, are rare in contemporary American writing. That is, the story has an unapologetic commitment to social change. The struggle between Irene and Khalid is almost equal in strength and therefore almost without a victory; the powers keep shifting. The truth given by this story is that a victory by one would mean an implicit defeat for BOTH of them. This is the lesson, critical to our time: that the sustaining of balance between warriors is an act of love. This is an important book for the years ahead."—Fanny Howe
"Debut novelist Jensen, winner of the 2001 Raymond Carver Prize for Short Fiction, powerfully portrays Khalid's boyhood amid the violence of the Middle East and the proud but complicated family that he either lost or left behind...the tale is well crafted, with its scenes of high drama and great sex. A first novel that offers a lot more than most."—Kirkus Reviews
"While many other American novelists continue to retreat into the safety and self-absorption of the interior life, Kim Jensen, up and coming Baltimore writer, fearlessly, looks beyond the individual, and beyond our nation, to capture the true complexities of love in the modern world. Fearless in both language and scope, Jensen's debut novel, The Woman I Left Behind, explores the relationship between an American and a Palestinian exile, who, despite their best intentions, discover that there can be no separation between political and personal identity, even in matters of the heart."—Susan McCallum-Smith, Baltimore Urbanite
"Packed with politics and sensuality, warm as bread baked in a Palestinian village bakery, and passionate as a California's purple jacaranda, The Woman I left Behind is a marvelously told tale, a timely offering for American and Arab readers to view themselves in the other's intimate and unsparing mirror."—Sharif Elmusa, Al-Ahram Weekly
"In The Woman I Left Behind, Kim Jensen creates a compelling portrait of the life of young Sayeed, who loses his parents to war and occupation. This powerful narrative conveys the poverty, chaos, and pain—as well as the spirited resistance of his community—in a way I had not felt before. It was hard to put this book down."—Penny Rosenwasser, author of Voices from a 'Promised Land': Palestinian & Israeli Peace Activists Speak Their Hearts.
"This is a love story with an edge to it, a novel that is daring in style and content, a riveting exploration of the place where politics, culture and psychology intersect, where a history of wars collides with everyday life...There is now an expansive body of literature about transnational identity and the immigrant experience, but, strangely enough, few books about cross-cultural couples where one of the partners is Arab, though many such couples and marriages exist in reality. This makes Jensen's book unique, as does her approach...Reading The Woman I Left Behind makes one wish to meet her, for she surely has many more stories to tell."—The Jordan Times
"...the universality of the human issues addressed in Jensen's debut novel assures its appeal to a broad audience, while the richness of the writing enhances that allure. Jensen's description is artistic, her voice honest, her politics informed...[an] excellent novel."—Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
"The Woman I left Behind is much more than an untraditional love story. A Palestinian refugee and a young American woman become equally entangled in the each other’s past, present and future. Their story is interwoven with class struggle, national aspirations, careers, love, and the good and bad of each other’s culture. Both of them, searching for a meaningful relationship, find that courage is needed when they are confronted with the opportunity to learn about themselves through the other. While living in California, Irene’s lover, Khalid, has flashbacks of his days in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in 1982: “There is no gap between present and memory. No chain of events that makes sense. No moment that he can pinpoint and say, ‘that’s the past’ and ‘now it’s over.’” This simple distinction of how time is framed captures an invaluable lesson for all those who try to make sense of the chasm between the West and Middle East. This novel may be the softest entry point for both peoples, Palestinians and Americans, to learn how similar, and different, both are."—Sam Bahour, co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians
"A brave postmodern excursion to the frontlines of love and language...intriguing and intense...It should be available at all collegiate and public libraries."--Counterpoise,
The Woman I Left Behind tells the story of a love between a Palestinian student and a young American woman. This remarkable debut novel explores the difficulties of an intercultural relationship, and it gives us a rare glimpse into Palestinian history and culture. Set in Southern California during the first Gulf War with flashback scenes in Jerusalem and Beirut, The Woman I Left Behind reveals the cultural dilemmas that inevitably occur when lovers from different worlds come together.
The novel's two engaging main characters live on the artistic and political fringe of society. Irene is a student activist on the brink of maturity and intellectual independence. Khalid is a charismatic, yet contradictory figure, who has been indelibly scarred by his experiences of deportation, war, and exile. The novel chronicles—in powerful, poetic language—each character's struggle to overcome the personal and political barriers that divide them.
With its detailed depictions of modern Palestinian history, as well as its colorful cast of supporting characters—from Palestinian feminists to American cyberpunks—The Woman I Left Behind reiterates the vital connections between politics, the imagination, and the most intimate aspects of our lives.
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