Enter Ghost

by Isabella Hammad
Enter Ghost cover
Good Books rating 4.25
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  • ID: 54
  • Added: 2025-08-21
  • Updated: 2025-09-10
  • Formats: 55
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
literaryelephant - WordPress.com · 2024-05-24
timely 4.25

Enter Ghost is a timely and emotionally powerful novel that invites readers to set aside expectations and engage deeply with difficult histories and personal hauntings.

This review highlights how Enter Ghost uses themes of ghosts and haunting to explore the complex personal and political pasts affecting the protagonist, Sonia, and her family. It emphasizes the novel's relevance to contemporary issues and its ability to draw readers into a nuanced understanding of Palestinian identity and resistance through the lens of family tensions and historical trauma. The novel is seen as both a useful and devastatingly timely read that challenges readers to look closer beyond surface narratives.

Quick quotes

    Enter Ghost feels like a useful and devastatingly timely read that demands the reader set expectations aside and look closer.

    Themes of ghosts and haunting are notable in Enter Ghost, which feels appropriate in a story about difficult and confronting histories.

    The war between Israel and Palestine continues, overshadowing daily life for everyone.

The Book Place - WordPress.com · 2023-05-09
moving 4.50

Enter Ghost is a moving, deftly written novel with a rich sense of its narrator's inner life and a compelling story of artistic and political awakening.

The review praises Enter Ghost for its layered narrative that deeply explores the interiority of its protagonist, Sonia. It appreciates the novel’s blending of personal struggle with broader political themes, especially through Sonia's involvement in a West Bank production of Hamlet. The story is recognized for its emotional depth and literary craftsmanship, offering a distinct and vivid portrayal of Palestinian life under occupation and the transformative power of art and identity.

Quick quotes

    Moving, deftly written, and with a layered, distinct sense of its narrator's interiority.

    Enter Ghost is an excellent novel.

    The novel offers a fresh perspective on the Palestinian experience through the staging of Hamlet.

The Guardian · 2023-03-28
intriguing 4.00

Enter Ghost is a dense but rewarding read that gains momentum as its protagonist embraces a theatrical role amidst the complex realities of the West Bank.

The Guardian’s review notes that while the novel’s pace is initially slow due to its detailed world-building and complex themes, it picks up significantly when Sonia commits to her role in Hamlet. This commitment mirrors her own personal and political awakening. The review appreciates the intricate portrayal of Palestinian life and the challenges faced by the characters, highlighting the novel’s rich narrative texture and dramatic tension rooted in the ongoing conflict.

Quick quotes

    The result is a dense read, but once Sonia fully commits to doing Hamlet the pace begins to pick up.

    The complex world-building pays off.

    Enter Ghost captures drama in the West Bank with nuance and depth.

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