16/09/2024
We are mourning the loss of Elias Khoury. His fictions are layered with ideas that shift under foot. A public intellectual who wrote novels, essays, and reportage, Khoury led an exceptionally rich life. He was an unflagging champion of the Palestinian people and spoke out against dictatorships in the Arab world and beyond. In his youth, he cared for Palestinian refugees in refugee camps outside of Amman, and later joined the Fatah. For many, Khoury’s novel GATE OF THE SUN, translated by Humphrey Davies, is a life-changing and life-affirming work. We have also published five other novels of Khoury’s, each one formally inventive and ambitious, with deep emotional and political implications. Khoury’s humor and compassion emerge again and again in his writing. In October, we will publish his novel STAR OF THE SEA.
“’Unwavering’ is perhaps the word that best characterizes Elias. He was unwavering in his commitment to social justice, in his criticism of the corrupt Lebanese state and Arab dictatorships, in his championing of the Palestinian cause, and in his love for life despite all the horrors he bore witness to in his writing.” —Yasmina Jraissati, Elias Khoury’s niece and agent
