• A copy of that months quite brilliant book club book (please collect from Portobello Books as soon as you have booked)
• A glass of wine (or soft drink) on arrival to help get the conversation started
• Cheese. Lots of cheese to keep the discussion flowing

For June we have selected Behind You Is The Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

Behind You Is the Sea brings us into the homes and lives of three main families – the Baladis, the Salamehs, and the Ammars – Palestinian immigrants who’ve all found a different welcome in America. Their various fates and struggles cause their community dynamic to sizzle and sometimes explode: the wealthy Ammar family employs young Maysoon Baladi, whose own family struggles financially, to clean up after their spoiled teenagers. Meanwhile, Marcus Salameh confronts his father in an effort to protect his younger sister for ‘dishonouring’ their name. Only a trip to Palestine, where Marcus experiences an unexpected and dramatic transformation, can bridge this seemingly unbridgeable divide between the two generations. Behind You Is the Sea faces stereotypes about Palestinian culture head-on, shifting perspectives to weave a complex social fabric replete with weddings, funerals, broken hearts, and devastating secrets.

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