Well, I wouldn’t exactly call these stories “noir,” at least not in the traditional sense. No one seemed like a wise guy, see? But as I thought about it, I realized these stories had overwhelming shadows of their own that didn’t involve Maltese Falcons or Double Indemnities. The shadows are most obviously at work, perhaps, in Mahmoud Shukair’s “City of Love and Loss.” The besotted narrator keeps trying to tell a love story but as he describes his lover’s beauty, their intimacy, her dress, always in the background are explosions, on the corners are armed soldiers, in their grandparent’s houses are new Israeli families. His love story has no room to unfold on these occupied pages.

I won’t read many of the stories again; they’re pretty forgettable. Shukair’s stands out, though, and when taken altogether the stories in this volume offer noir as a way of thinking about human rights atrocities. I wonder if this idea will go anywhere . . . All that is interesting enough for 3 stars. ( )

In 2004, Akashic Books conceived the idea of noir books each taking place in cities around the world. Each chapter is written by a different, published author. Some are fiction and some are based on fact. They can take place in the past, present, or future. Each book opens with a map of the city, and the silhouette of a body in the location for each story.
I have read a few of the books on the series and have found they offer many facets of the particular city and the people in it.
EAST JERUSALEM NOIR is different. The stories focus on the present with a strong link to the past. They they are not mysteries but talk about every day life in East Jerusalem. They do not mention the relationship between the Jews and Jerusalem. Sadly, that focus is primarily negative interaction with Israel.
Several refer to trauma, such as having their house destroyed because it is too close to a security wall or difficulty going through checkpoints to get into Israel. In many of them, the characters are abused by the Israeli police or military. The trauma is understandable but the reasons for security walls or checkpoints are not mentioned. (After they were put up, attacks on civilians in Israel from the West Bank declined dramatically.)
Some authors rue the changes in East Jerusalem because of Israeli actions. They ignore the changes done between 1949 and 1967 when Jordan controlled the area after having evicted Jewish population from their ancestral homes and the destruction that followed. (The British census from October 1922 reveals 13,413 Arabs, 14,699 Christians, and 33,971 Jews living in Jerusalem.)
Since the end of World War II, there have been scores of millions of refugees worldwide. In 1947, 15 million refugees from Pakistan and India exchanged their home countries. More than 2 million of them died. The survivors looked to the future and developed productive lives. The refugees also included about 850,000 Jews, who were driven from Arab lands, including historic Palestine, where their families had lived for 3000 years. Most have been resettled within 15 years. Only the Palestinians pass on refugee status to generations who were not directly involved or who have become citizens of other countries.
Most of the stories, present slim descriptions of Jerusalem. Others, particularly “Mosques, Churches, Falafel, Mufaddara” by Jameel Al-Salhout, beautifully describe locations, histories, and emotions, often intertwined with the history of the city.
One character asks, “Why can’t we have periods of calm like other people of the world?” Part of that is answered in another story about the school for deaf children. It has both Arabs and Jewish students. Palestinian children performing a play. They were carrying Palestinian flags and making violent gestures as well as drawing pictures of children throwing stones, the Palestinian flag above the Dome of the Rock, a child standing in front of an Israeli tank, people carrying the body of a martyr.
There are a few lovely poems about Jerusalem, and what it means to the people. Some point out the name Jerusalem includes the word peace.
Some of the stories were very well-written and showed a lot of thought. Others were focus solely on the results of not being able to have a long-lasting two-state solution with each country recognizing the history and rights of the other. Continuing to live in the past will not solve it.
I received a review copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

In 2004, Akashic Books conceived the idea of noir books each taking place in cities around the world. Each chapter is written by a different, published author. Some are fiction and some are based on fact. They can take place in the past, present, or future. Each book opens with a map of the city, and the silhouette of a body in the location for each story.
I have read a few of the books on the series and have found they offer many facets of the particular city and the people in it.
EAST JERUSALEM NOIR is different. The stories focus on the present with a strong link to the past. They they are not mysteries but talk about every day life in East Jerusalem. They do not mention the relationship between the Jews and Jerusalem. Sadly, that focus is primarily negative interaction with Israel.
Several refer to trauma, such as having their house destroyed because it is too close to a security wall or difficulty going through checkpoints to get into Israel. In many of them, the characters are abused by the Israeli police or military. The trauma is understandable but the reasons for security walls or checkpoints are not mentioned. (After they were put up, attacks on civilians in Israel from the West Bank declined dramatically.)
Some authors rue the changes in East Jerusalem because of Israeli actions. They ignore the changes done between 1949 and 1967 when Jordan controlled the area after having evicted Jewish population from their ancestral homes and the destruction that followed. (The British census from October 1922 reveals 13,413 Arabs, 14,699 Christians, and 33,971 Jews living in Jerusalem.)
Since the end of World War II, there have been scores of millions of refugees worldwide. In 1947, 15 million refugees from Pakistan and India exchanged their home countries. More than 2 million of them died. The survivors looked to the future and developed productive lives. The refugees also included about 850,000 Jews, who were driven from Arab lands, including historic Palestine, where their families had lived for 3000 years. Most have been resettled within 15 years. Only the Palestinians pass on refugee status to generations who were not directly involved or who have become citizens of other countries.
Most of the stories, present slim descriptions of Jerusalem. Others, particularly “Mosques, Churches, Falafel, Mufaddara” by Jameel Al-Salhout, beautifully describe locations, histories, and emotions, often intertwined with the history of the city.
One character asks, “Why can’t we have periods of calm like other people of the world?” Part of that is answered in another story about the school for deaf children. It has both Arabs and Jewish students. Palestinian children performing a play. They were carrying Palestinian flags and making violent gestures as well as drawing pictures of children throwing stones, the Palestinian flag above the Dome of the Rock, a child standing in front of an Israeli tank, people carrying the body of a martyr.
There are a few lovely poems about Jerusalem, and what it means to the people. Some point out the name Jerusalem includes the word peace.
Some of the stories were very well-written and showed a lot of thought. Others were focus solely on the results of not being able to have a long-lasting two-state solution with each country recognizing the history and rights of the other. Continuing to live in the past will not solve it.
I received a review copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ( )

I've been requesting review copies of the Noir city anthologies for awhile now, and was thrilled to have been selected as a reviewer for this one. It was every bit as impressive as anticipated! This volume contains short stories by a nice variety of Palestinian authors, all set in East Jerusalem. I enjoyed all of the stories, and some were particular stand-outs. I appreciated the way each story was set in a different part of the city, or was focused on a different aspect of life. I learned a lot about the area and its people through the words of these authors. I even learned a bit of history of that area that I didn't already know. I always appreciate the opportunity to read about other places and cultures, especially through the work of authors that are actually FROM those places. I highly recommend this volume, and this series. 5 stars! ( )

The fighting between Gazans and Israels as seen by Palestinian writers. A different view then that offered by U.S. news outlets. Yes, the Palestinians are anxious to present their people as peaceful people abused by the Israel government, laws, and the police and military. I believe this view, a little over the top, sometimes, in these stories. But also, a real presentation of the suffering endured by a people
displaced from their long held homes and country.The fighting between Gazans and Israels as seen by Palestinian writers. A different view then that offered by U.S. news outlets. Yes, the Palestinians are anxious to present their people as peaceful people abused by the Israel government, laws, and the police and military. I believe this view, a little over the top, sometimes, in these stories. But also, a real presentation of the suffering endured by a people
displaced from their long held homes and country. The people in these stories want to live in peace in what they see as their homeland. Why not? ( )

As the title says, East Jerusalem Noir is a collection of short stories set in Palestinian East Jerusalem; unlike what the title says, however, I wouldn't really classify any of these as noir. They're more a set of explorations of what life is like for everyday people under occupation. As with many short story collections, this is a very mixed bag in terms of quality, and my rating reflects a very rough average. A couple are truly good, some are average, and a swathe of them either feel half-formed or are actively bad. Plus one that's genuinely awful, by Jameel al-Salhout, which is I think intended to be a critique of shallow western/Orientalist disengagement from the political situation in Israel-Palestine but just came across as misogynist and overblown. I'll grant that in one place it may have been a function of a translation choice more than anything else (to have an Englishwoman be confused by the herb thyme and recognise neither it nor its name was bizarre) but I don't think the translator was the only reason my face was fixed in a rictus grimace the whole time I was reading it. ( )