We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I
- Author Raja Shehadeh
- Narrator Peter Ganim
- Publisher Blackstone Publishing
- Run Time 5 hours and 9 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Biography and non-fiction prose, Family and health, Memoirs, Relationships and families: advice and issues.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
- £3.99
Listen to a sample
What to expect
2023 National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction
A subtle psychological portrait of the author’s relationship with his father during the twentieth-century battle for Palestinian human rights
Aziz Shehadeh was many things: lawyer, activist, and political detainee. He was also the father of bestselling author and activist Raja. In this searingly personal memoir, Raja Shehadeh unpicks the snags and complexities of their relationship.
A vocal and fearless opponent, Aziz resists under the British mandatory period, then under Jordan, and, finally, under Israel. As a young man, Raja fails to recognize his father’s courage, and in turn, his father does not appreciate Raja’s own efforts in campaigning for Palestinian human rights. When Aziz is murdered in 1985, it changes Raja irrevocably.
This is not only the story of the battle against the various oppressors of the Palestinians but also a moving portrait of a particular father and son relationship.
Critics Review
-
“Profoundly personal as well as historically significant…Illustrates how being dispossessed and being occupied are not merely legal or political conditions.”
New York Times Book Review -
“Raja’s memoir is a vital history of Aziz’s overlooked achievements; but it is also a son’s love letter to his father.”
Harper's -
“A striking story of loss, heartbreak, and political perfidy.”
Irish Times (Dublin) -
“Absolutely gripping…His masterly, remorseless selection and accumulation of detail builds an unanswerable case against Palestine’s historic and current oppressors.”
The Guardian (London) -
“This is a Palestinian memoir that will endure.”
Church Times -
“Shehadeh movingly blends the personal and political in this heartfelt take on his complex relationship with his lawyer father.”
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
More from the same
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.