Two rentrée novels trace Palestinian lives, in memory and in fable
En attendant Nadeau reviews two books from this year's rentrée littéraire that approach Palestine from different angles: a family history and a tale of vanishing.
The literary review En attendant Nadeau has published reviews of two novels from the 2026 rentrée littéraire that both take up Palestinian life as their subject, though by very different routes.
The first, "Ici commence la terre" by the French-Palestinian-Lebanese writer Jadd Hilal, tells the story of the author's grandmother. According to En attendant Nadeau, the book is a moving account that stands alongside the many Palestinian lives marked by oppression.
The second, "Septentrionale" by Karim Kattan, takes a different form. En attendant Nadeau describes it as a portrait of a country facing an absurd and tragic fate, and credits Kattan with translating into narrative what is often considered incommunicable. The review notes that the book depicts an end of the world without falling into cliché or pathos, and without sadness.
No further details on plot, length or publisher are given in the material available.
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