Seven Heavens Away

Palestinian Canadian poet Zaghal debuts with a gritty and nuanced novel centered on a working-class Muslim teen in 2015 Jerusalem. One evening, 15-year-old Aziz goes out for dinner with his friends Hassan and Mustafa to celebrate Mustafa’s first paycheck from his job at a car wash. The ultraresponsible Hassan, nervous about being out past curfew, takes out his cell phone to call home, and he’s shot dead by an armed civilian who thought he was flashing a weapon. Devastated, Aziz attends a strident speech given by Hassan’s cleric father, in which he makes Hassan into a martyr for Palestinian liberation. Aziz considers taking up the cause, but in the days that follow, he’s torn between continuing his normal life and committing to political violence. Mustafa, in contrast, doesn’t hesitate, and he harangues Aziz for befriending a Jewish coworker, Dafna, at the bagel shop where he works. Zaghal draws detailed portraits of his characters, including Aziz’s loving and worried mother, who wants to send him to live with her sister in Canada, and his overworked and volatile taxi driver father. After Mustafa resolves to commit an act of terror, the story builds to a chilling climax. It’s an auspicious first outing. (Feb.)