SIMON DUFF relishes the cross contamination of Damien Hirst’s greatest hits by street artists from France and the US
Resonant realities from Ramallah
SUE TURNER recommends an outstanding book of short stories set in the Palestinian city
MULTI-FACETED: Ramallah
In view of the grooming gangs inquiry, SIMON PARSONS feels the relevance of this powerful examination of trauma suffered at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre
JOHN GREEN doubts the motivations of a US war photographer who never questions why, or for whom, she is producing images of imperialist conflict
MARIA DUARTE reviews Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Hedda, The Mastermind, and Regretting You
TONY CONWAY welcomes a thrilling and concise history of Hope not Hate, that is also a manual full of tactical advice
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes an inspiring account of living with deafness that has important lessons for the treatment of deaf people in today’s UK
The Book of Ramallah
Edited by Maya Abu Al-Hayat
(Comma Press, £9.99)
THE BOOK of Ramallah is the latest in Comma Press’s short-story collections based on a city, usually a capital.
Situated in the West Bank, some 10 miles from Jerusalem and ranged along a ridge of the Samarian Hills, Ramallah is a capital city of sorts. It acts as an administrative centre, with government ministries, the HQ of the Palestinian Security Services and the Mukata’a compound, the seat of the Palestinian Authority.
It’s notorious for the two-year siege the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) imposed on Yasser Arafat, almost killing him as the bulldozers rolled in at the end.
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