Enter Ghost: from one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists

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BOGAEV: Yeah, and another line about this that really kind of hits hard, Sonia has what she describes as a, “Horrible, useless revelation, which was that in some way the meaning of our Hamlet depended on this suffering” that is going on around them, just art as the ultimate exploitation. Hammad is a natural storyteller… The Parisian teems with riches – love, war, betrayal and madness – and marks the arrival of a bright new talent.”— Guardian When Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, she joins a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing Gertrude's lines in classical Arabic with a dedicated group of men who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, all want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer and the warring intensifies, it becomes clear just how many obstacles stand before the troupe. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.

HAMMAD: Definitely. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about recognition scenes, kind of Aristotelian idea of an anagnorisis, or recognition at a point of reversal or a turning point of the action in a play, and how that might figure in narrative fiction and novels.

Hammad writes, “We were enacting a Palestinian cliché: coming to see the house the family had lost. Although, as Mariam pointed out, my case did not quite fit that mould” (p.185). What does the sale of Sonia’s grandparents’ house bring up for her?

When Sonia meets the charismatic and candid Mariam, a local director, she joins a production of Hamletin the West Bank. Soon, Sonia is rehearsing Gertrude's lines in classical Arabic with a dedicated group of men who, in spite of competing egos and priorities, all want to bring Shakespeare to that side of the wall. As opening night draws closer and the warring intensifies, it becomes clear just how many obstacles stand before the troupe. Amidst it all, the life Sonia once knew starts to give way to the daunting, exhilarating possibility of finding a new self in her ancestral home.Yeah, I mean, I kind of looked at a variety of Arabic translations of Shakespeare, of Hamlet specifically, to try and get a sense of the way he’d been received in the Arab world. Assured and captivating… Ms. Hammad’s acute evocation of place and personality ensures that we are never lost… This agile writer sets us firmly in place, fixing our attention on intersecting lives.”— Wall Street Journal BOGAEV: Well, I think, I think we’re all a little plagued by that. Such a joy to talk with you. I really appreciate it. And thank you for the book as well. Strangely I ended the book not feeling too out of my depth on key moments and places referenced in the story. A feel for time and place built up inside me, as a patchwork as the book progressed. I felt more uncertain on the Shakespeare, having not read or studied Hamlet. It would have helped me if I had a greater knowledge of that work.

BOGAEV: No, that does. Because your mind kind of goes blank or freezes when you see such familiar lines. This kind of frees it up or thaws it, I thought. BOGAEV: Another moment I loved is, Sonia at one point just says, “Why don’t we just make Ophelia a suicide bomber and call it a day?” And Mariam, the director says, “We can’t. Somebody already did a version like that quite recently.” Very seriously responding to this flippant comment because the stakes are so high politically and spiritually. Because that’s, kind of, one of the elements or kind of features of having a first-person narration is that you can start to feel a little trapped inside the eye. This was a valve, to get out of the eye and make Sonia just one of many, one of the troupe and to equalize all the voices in the room. A lyrical meditation on Palestinian endurance, the role of theater as political protest, and the undeniable pull of home." — BooklistDiscuss the company’s final performance at the end of the novel. Why do you think they decided to undertake this particular performance despite all of the known risks? What final lines from Shakespeare conclude the book and why do you think the author made this choice? A thorough and thoughtful exploration of the role of art in the political arena.”— Kirkus, starred review Compelling... The blend of personal and political feels remarkably fresh. Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2023* Enter Ghostis a novel to savour rather than steam through — not least because it feels completely different to anything else being written right now in English, a heartfelt meditation on the relationship between art and politics. The story unfurls with a slow delicacy and Hammad sustains tension without resorting to cheap suspense… When you surrender to her writing, everything else falls away.”— Sunday Times (UK) The Attendants part them, and they come out of the grave HAMLET Why I will fight with him upon this theme

There are multiple layers to this book, as there are multiple types of ghosts being experienced. The ghosts of Hamlet are only the most o If you’re a fan of Shakespeare Unlimited, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice to help others find the show.There are unifiers in her work, and I don't mean Hammad's obvious sensitivity, intelligence, or erudition. I'm too tired because of external circumstances to elaborate, but Enter Ghost tapped into my inward sense of unbelonging and loneliness, as well as the crushing weight of history, the (to crib another book) inheritance of loss. It holds up under scrutiny, though I'm never sure at first, visceral as my reaction is to her work.