Students, faculty members delve into university professor’s Booker-nominated novel

The Faculty of Arts at Birzeit University, in collaboration with the Faculty of Media, held a discussion of Professor of Media Dr. Walid Shurafa’s novel, “Heir of the Tombstones,” which was selected in the shortlist for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, on March 13, 2018.

The discussion was led by Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies Dr. Abdulrahim Al Shaikh and was attended by a number of students and faculty members.

Department of Media Acting Chairperson Jumane Qunnaisse welcomed attendees to what she called a “celebration of a great Palestinian literary achievement that made us all very proud.”

Al Shaikh commended the novel, saying “We should celebrate Palestine, which inspired this great work, not Dr. Shurafa, the novel, or the prize. The [Booker Prize] foundation should be honored to have a work from Palestine on the shortlist.”

The novel, Al Shaikh added, is critical of the religious rhetoric, noting that it “alluded to the sins of religion and history and the fact that Palestinians don’t share these sins.”

“The unorthodox structure of the novel – mainly composed of arguments –  will force the reader to dig into the author’s thoughts. This will be a milestone work of art in the Palestinian literary scene,” Al Shaik said.