“The Woman I Left Behind”, a novel by Kim Jenson [Book Review]

Sam’s Synopsis

The Woman I left Behind is much more than an untraditional love story. A Palestinian refugee and a young American woman become equally entangled in the each other’s past, present and future.

Their story is interwoven with class struggle, national aspirations, careers, love, and the good and bad of each other’s culture.

Both of them, searching for a meaningful relationship, find that courage is needed when they are confronted with the opportunity to learn about themselves through the other.

While living in California, Irene’s lover, Khalid, has flashbacks of his days in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in 1982:

“There is no gap between present and memory. No chain of events that makes sense. No moment that he can pinpoint and say, ‘that’s the past’ and ‘now it’s over.’”

This simple distinction of how time is framed captures an invaluable lesson for all those who try to make sense of the chasm between the West and Middle East.

This novel may be the softest entry point for both peoples, Palestinians and Americans, to learn how similar, and different, both are.

—Sam Bahour, co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians

Publisher’s Description

The Woman I Left Behind is a poetically written novel about a turbulent love affair between a young American woman and a Palestinian refugee.

When Irene, an intelligent, committed and discerning student meets Khalid, a Palestinian refugee now living in Southern California, she immediately knows that this man would cause her both immense pain and immense joy.

Coming from two separate worlds that are at odds with each other, both Irene and Khalid have to overcome their cultural differences. Irene comes to realize that she has to break free from her parents’ norms and values and lead a more meaningful life–a life not guided by superficialities but by a sense of commitment and purpose.

After opening her eyes not only to the psychological wounds Khalid suffered during his experiences of war, deportation, and exile, but also to her own childhood wounds, Irene abandons her detached self, ultimately leading to a reconciliation with Khalid.

With its detailed depictions of modern Palestinian history, as well as its cast of colorful characters–from Palestinian feminists to American cyberpunks–Kim Jensen’s novel reiterates the vital connections between politics, the imagination, and the most intimate aspects of our lives.

Book Details

Find Kim’s website at www.kimjensen.org

Buy the book on bookshop.com

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