To call this an essential text when it comes to explaining and educating people on the present Palestine conflict would be an understatement. Isabella Hammad’s impeccably done Recognizing the Stranger takes the issue head-on but in a much more nuanced, and possibly more effective way than most. The first half of the book is the commencement speech Hammad gave at Columbia a week before the October 7th attacks, with the last 20 pages being an afterword titled On Gaza. Hammad’s crisp, concise, and accessible writing gives any reader a better understanding of tragedy as a whole. I will be thinking about this afterword and Hammad’s voice for many, many years to come, absolutely breathtaking and essential for our time.
Recognizing the Stranger by Isabella Hammad, (List Price: $18, Grove Press, Black Cat, 9780802163929, September 2024)
Reviewed by Grace, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA