A Mask, the Colour of the Sky
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 | |
| Author | Basem Khandakji |
|---|---|
| Language | Arabic |
Publication date | 2023 |
| Publication place | Palestine |
A Mask, the Colour of the Sky (قناع بلون السماء) is a novel by the Palestinian writer, poet, and prisoner Basem Khandakji, published in 2023 by Dar Al-Adab in Beirut. The novel won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2024, called the Arabic Booker Prize.[1][2]
The novel was translated into English by Addie Leak;[3] the English edition will be published in 2026 by Europa Editions.[4][5]
The book was written during confinement in Israeli prison. Israeli prison authorities denied all knowledge of the book.[6]
Khandakji's brother said the novel was written between June and November 2021 "in difficult circumstances".[7]
The author chose Mary Magdalene as a focal point of the novel, saying, "Mary Magdalene was subjected to historical oppression and transformed into a passive, sexual object. She was excluded from the Gospel context and relegated to a silenced history. I attempted to resurrect her from this history, to rewrite her, and to introduce a symbolic dimension: Mary Magdalene is an expression of the Palestinian condition and of Palestine’s position in history."[8]
The author was released from Israeli prison in October 2025, following a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel. However, he was exiled from his hometown, Nablus, sent into Egypt.[9]
