cover image Unholyland: The Trilogy

Unholyland: The Trilogy

Aidan Andrew Dun. Interlink, $20 trade paper (264p) ISBN 978-1-56656-062-7

The well-worn ground of cross-conflict love is given the sonnet treatment in this story of an Israeli DJ and a Palestinian rapper who struggle to make their burgeoning relationship work despite a history of war. Moss is a DJ with a deep love for Palestinian hip-hop and deep guilt over the ongoing Israel-Palestine Conflict. On a trip to a secret underground club in Nazareth, he is wowed and wooed by an up-and-coming Palestinian rapper named Jalilah, a teenager who lives in the Shatila refugee camp near Beirut. The two immediately fall for each other, but these lovers are intensely star-crossed: Moss is due to serve his mandatory military service in the Israeli Defense Forces, and Jalilah's parents want her to marry someone they approve of. Despite the many obstacles in their way, the two are determined to be together, although their countries and people have other ideas. Told in a series of sonnets, the story draws on a litany of influences, including the political slingshot hip-hop of Palestine, Rastafarian reggae, religious myth, and slang. The result is an engaging and remarkable story that moves from past to present to provide a comprehensive (if decidedly anti-Israel) view of decades of conflict between two peoples and different generations. With so much going on, it is easy to lose the thread of the narrative among the rhymes and time-jumps. Even so, it is an innovative work that draws the reader in with a real sense of danger and urgency. (Mar.)