“A brilliant book … thoughtful, rigorous, fascinating, personal, reflective, all the good things.”

– — Octavia Bright

“The life of Nusayba—a mother, a warrior—becomes the prism through which N.S. Nuseibeh deftly and lyrically reflects the contemporary world back to us, illuminating not only the layers of a physical landscape shaped by empire and colonialism, but of our mental landscapes of myth and story. Probing questions of identity, inheritance, faith, feminism and home, Namesake is a masterful tapestry. It will leave you seeing both self and world with new eyes.”

– — Erica Berry

“N.S. Nuseibeh conjures her diverse identities and interests to create a world that is free and hospitable. English-Palestinian, author-cook, mythologist-feminist, at home in Jerusalem, at work in Oxford, and at play in New York, Nuseibeh confronts the divisive and discriminatory issues that dog our times with a cosmopolitan ethic of justice and equality that seeks to build arguments, rather than to win them … Namesake explores vulnerability, fragility, anxiety, and ambivalence as ways of beautifully coming to terms with the wounds and worries of the world.”

– — Homi K. Bhabha

“A wonderful book about the deep back stories and the tangled histories of N. S. Nuseibeh’s own multiple identities. She is self-deprecating and thoughtful and always interesting, a rare instance of a writer who seems to listen as much as she informs.”

– — Mark Haddon

“Nuseibeh deftly probes a wide range of topics—history, feminism, religion, culture, nostalgia, racism, violence, anxiety, illness and motherhood—in ways that are deeply personal, specific and nuanced … Perhaps most beautifully and importantly, Nuseibeh’s writing demands of her what it asks of her reader: self-examination, honesty and grace. It’s no small thing to achieve in writing something so deeply personal that also graciously extends to others.”

– — Dima Alzayat

“Fascinating, insightful and eye-opening. Namesake taught and entertained me in equal measure with its warmth, originality and vision. I loved how N.S. Nuseibeh seamlessly navigated between the brutally personal and breathtakingly universal, how she wove in such an eclectic and impressive range of voices and ideas.”

– — Violet Moller

“Such a brave, insightful and important book. A collection of essays exploring the author’s Palestinian, Arab, British, Muslim, female, academic and privileged identities through deep thinking and rigorous research while using an ancestor as her touchstone … I learned so much from this book.”

– — Zeba Talkhani

“At once vulnerable and intellectually rigorous, here is an illuminating and trenchant exploration of Muslim feminism … An essential read in the war against lazy stereotypes, cultural annihilation, and every form of apartheid.”

– — The Guardian

“A wonderfully inventive blend of personal insight and contemporary commentary with Islamic history, myth and culture … Intuitive and profound.”

– — The Big Issue

“Incredible … A very warmly told and a very human book filled with tenderness, ample food, and sensory descriptions.”

– — Caroline Eden