25 standout books of 2025: Palestinian stories, diaspora voices, and global literary breakthroughs

In a year shaped by war, displacement and political rupture, books have continued to offer a space not just for escape, but for reckoning.

Across fiction, memoir and political writing, 2025 has seen authors grapple with power, memory, complicity and survival — often from the margins, and often against silence.

More and more major publishing houses are increasingly recognising and supporting many voices that may not have been possible some years ago. From Plestia Alaqad's The Eyes of Gaza (Little, Brown and Company) to Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Banu Mushtaq (And Other Stories/Penguin Random House India), and Hala Alyan's I'll Tell You When I'm Home (Simon & Schuster).

These works, among others, show how global publishers are elevating narratives that engage with identity, displacement, and human experience across continents, highlighting the rich diversity and critical relevance of 2025's literary output.

Moreover, 2025 was a landmark year for books related to Palestine and Gaza, as global attention remained focused on Israel's ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis.

A remarkable number of titles, from diaries and memoirs like Gaza: A Doctor's Diary and Voices of Resistance, to anthologies and cultural explorations such as We Are Not Numbers: The Voice of Gaza's Youth and Jaffa and the Present Absence, were reviewed in depth by The New Arab. Beyond reviews, we interviewed several authors, providing readers with firsthand insight into the ideas, experiences, and motivations behind their work.

This surge in Palestinian narratives reflects a growing literary engagement with themes of resistance against occupation, memory, and lived experience, with publishers and readers alike turning to these urgent voices during one of the most vital chapters of Palestinian history.

Taken together, these books — across geographies, genres and political contexts — capture a year in which literature became a vital site of testimony, imagination and resistance. From intimate family reckonings to expansive critiques of empire, injustice and belonging, 2025's most compelling books ask urgent questions about voice, erasure and what it means to bear witness in fractured times.

With this in mind, Features Editor, Sheeffah Shiraz, has curated a list of 25 standout books from The New Arab's Book Club this year, a selection that reflects the breadth, urgency, and literary power that defined reading in 2025.

Salutation Road by Salma Ibrahim

In Salutation Road, Salma Ibrahim follows Sirad, a young Somali‑British woman in post‑Brexit London whose commute unexpectedly transports her to Mogadishu, using speculative fiction to explore identity, immigration, generational ties and the universal migrant experience.

The Orchards of Basra by Mansoura Ez-Eldin

Mansoura Ez‑Eldin's The Orchards of Basra is a haunting, time-spanning tale following an Egyptian bookseller whose dreams connect him to an ancient figure, exploring sin, free will, and morality across generations.

Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis 

In Fundamentally, a heartbroken British academic leads a UN effort to deradicalise IS brides in Iraq, forming an unlikely bond with a young bride. The novel blends humour with sharp insight into ideology, identity and flawed institutions.

Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El‑Kurd 

Mohammed El‑Kurd's Perfect Victims deconstructs how Palestinians are pressured to perform "perfect victimhood" for global audiences, critiquing Western and Zionist narratives and demanding dignity, collective memory, and resistance. 

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad 

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This is a personal, probing critique of Western hypocrisy and moral failure, born from Omar El Akkad's own disillusionment with Western ideals in the face of Gaza's tragedy.

Good Girl by Aria Aber 
Aria Aber's Good Girl follows 19‑year‑old Nila, an Afghan‑German in Berlin grappling with identity, grief and cultural expectations as she navigates nightlife, racial tension and self‑discovery in a world that constantly tells her she doesn't belong. 

The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji 

The Persians spans 70 years of Iranian history through the lives of five women across generations, exploring exile, identity and belonging while critiquing nostalgia and the complex ties between homeland and diaspora.

The Eyes of Gaza: A Personal Diary of Survival by Plestia Alaqad 

Plestia Alaqad's The Eyes of Gaza transforms her diary into a vivid personal account of life under Israeli bombardment, capturing daily resilience, humanity and emotion amid genocide while challenging dehumanising media narratives. 

"We're seeing how Palestinians are getting killed, but we don't see how Palestinians lived. That's where the dehumanisation comes in," Plestia told The New Arab in an interview. 

The Dissenters by Youssef Rakha 

In The Dissenters, Youssef Rakha uses an epistolary narrative to explore post‑revolution Cairo through the life of Nour and his mother, portraying dissent and personal identity amid Egypt's changing political and social landscape.

I'll Tell You When I'm Home by Hala Alyan

In I'll Tell You When I'm Home, Hala Alyan's lyrical memoir traces her search for home through exile, infertility, addiction and surrogacy, weaving family history and displacement into a powerful personal reckoning about identity and belonging.

Babylon, Albion by Dalia Al‑Dujaili

Dalia Al‑Dujaili blends memoir, nature and myth to explore identity between Iraq and Britain, reflecting on belonging, ancestral memory and the ecosystems that shape us. Through intimate reflections and lyrical prose, Dalia reveals how the landscapes of two countries intertwine with personal history and self-discovery.

We Are Not Numbers: The Voice of Gaza's Youth by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey

We Are Not Numbers compiles stories, poems and essays by young Gazans, offering raw, personal perspectives on life under Israel's siege that challenge media narratives and affirm Palestinian humanity beyond statistics. It highlights the resilience, creativity, and courage of Gaza's youth, showing how they document their lives and struggles despite conflict and hardship.

The Book of Sana'a, edited by Laura Kasinof 

This Yemeni anthology of short fiction depicts life in the ancient capital through war, trauma, social norms and everyday struggles, weaving historical, fantastical and personal stories that reveal the city of Sanaa's deep layers.

Who Will Remain by Kasim Ali 

In Who Will Remain, Kasim Ali follows Amir, a British‑Pakistani student in Birmingham caught between family pressure, poverty and the lure of easy money, exploring identity, belonging, moral ambiguity and the complexities facing young men in deprived urban life.

Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Banu Mushtaq

Deepa Bhasthi's translation of this beautiful novel captures 12 short stories that illuminate the lives of Muslim women in southern India, exposing patriarchy, societal restrictions and resilience with vivid social commentary and emotional depth.

The Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World Historical Perspective by Gilbert Achcar

In The Gaza Catastrophe, Gilbert Achcar traces the roots of Israel’s genocide in Gaza through historical Zionism, global power dynamics and Western support, arguing context is essential to understanding the violence and denial surrounding it.

Voices of Resistance: Diaries of Genocide, edited by Batool Abu Akleen, Sondos Sabra, Nahil Mohana and Ala'a Obaid 

Chronicling four Gaza women's lives under siege, Voices of Resistance blends personal diary entries with poetry, resilience and defiance amid Israel's ongoing genocide. Their firsthand accounts of displacement, daily survival, community strength, and the haunting cost of war preserve memory and refuse erasure as they document the lived reality of conflict, endurance and hope.

Safe Corridor: One Boy's Harrowing Journey to Survive Childhood Amid Syria's Collapse by Jan Dost

In Safe Corridor, Jan Dost tells the story of 13‑year‑old Kamiran, whose raw, Kafkaesque narration lays bare a child's trauma and resilience amid displacement, war and loss as Syria collapses around him, revealing the psychological and physical toll of survival.

Narrative Threads: Rediscovering Tatreez by Joanna Barakat

Joanna Barakat explores Palestinian embroidery (tatreez) as a visual language of identity, resistance and memory in Narrative Threads, bringing together 24 artists who use its motifs to connect heritage, protest and culture.

I Can Imagine It for Us: A Palestinian Daughter's Memoir by Mai Serhan 

In I Can Imagine It for Us, Mai Serhan uses an epistolary memoir to address her father and reclaim her Palestinian identity, weaving fragmented memories of family, exile and suppressed history into a powerful narrative.

The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri

In The Sisters, Jonas Hassen Khemiri crafts a multi‑generational saga following the Swedish‑Tunisian Mikkola sisters and a narrator named Jonas, blending family secrets, identity, belonging and the search for home across decades and continents.

Gaza: The Story of a Genocide, edited by Fatima Bhutto and Sonia Faleiro

Editors Fatima Bhutto and Sonia Faleiro assemble testimony, poetry, art and reportage from Palestinian writers to document the immeasurable toll of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Their anthology provides an urgent and far-ranging compendium of accounts and perspectives that chronicle loss, courage, and the urgency of remembrance. 

Vulture by Phoebe Greenwood

Phoebe Greenwood delivers a scathing, darkly funny satire of war journalism in Gaza. Her novel, Vulture, follows a British freelancer whose complicity and moral corrosion expose how the media feeds on suffering while struggling to ethically witness catastrophe.

Murjana by Ghada Karmi

Known for her incisive political and autobiographical writing, Ghada Karmi takes an unexpected turn in Murjana, crafting a vivid fictional portrait of medieval Baghdad grounded in history and imagination. Through a forbidden love story that defies sectarian boundaries, her novel blends historical detail with emotional depth to explore desire, social constraint and cultural tension in a richly imagined past.

Living with the Qur'an: A Week‑by‑Week Guide to Spiritual Growth by Aliyah Umm Raiyaan

Aliyah Umm Raiyaan offers a year‑long, week‑by‑week guide to Quranic reflection in her latest release, Living with the Qur'an, pairing a verse with real‑life stories, journaling, and practical prompts to deepen one's spiritual connection and make the Quran a living guide.