Time of White Horses

by Ibrahim Nasrallah Book 2 in the The Palestinian Comedy series.

First published 2007

Amazon

4.5(51)

In the Palestinian village of Hadiya, Hajj Mahmud, his son Khaled and his grandson Naji inherit a fierce attachment to their land, their community and the white horses entwined with the family’s fortunes. Their story begins in the closing decades of Ottoman rule, when local feuds, taxation, conscription and resistance shape village life in the hills around Jerusalem.

British occupation and mandate rule bring new officials, prisons and political pressures, while land sales, Zionist settlement and the Palestinian revolt of 1936–1939 steadily narrow the villagers’ choices. By 1948, the family’s private history has become part of the Nakba: a story of war, dispossession and the struggle to preserve memory after a place has been lost. The novel incorporates documented figures including journalist Najib Nassar and was translated into English by Nancy Roberts.

Historical Periods

Late Ottoman Empire1876–1922 Arab Revolt in Palestine1936–1939 CE Nakba and Palestinian Displacement1947–1949 CE

Genres

Court & Political Fiction Historical Sagas Social & Domestic Fiction War Fiction

Historical people

Najib Nassar1865–1948

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