Landmark satirical novel by Palestinian writer Emile Habiby, following Saeed, a Palestinian citizen of Israel navigating life under Israeli rule after 1948 through dark humor and absurdism. The novel's portmanteau title ("pessoptimist," blending pessimist and optimist) captures the tragicomic experience of Palestinians inside Israel, simultaneously subjects of dispossession and holders of Israeli citizenship. A masterpiece of Palestinian and Arabic literature. A widely-taught literary text recommended for students and researchers of Arabic literature, Palestinian fiction, and the experience of Palestinian citizens of Israel, essential for anyone studying satire and absurdism as literary strategies for representing life under settler colonialism. Originally published in Arabic in 1974. Translated from its original Arabic by Salma Khadra Jayyusi and Trevor LeGassick.
