Originally published in French as L’Éden à l’aube by Éditions Elyzad in 2024, Eden at Dawn is set in a mythical Jerusalem under occupation and buried by a biblical sandstorm. It follows Gabriel and Isaac, two young men who meet in the old city, fall in love, lose each other and find each other again, before setting out on a perilous road trip through the West Bank. Blending oral storytelling traditions, classical culture and the marvellous with the brutally real, the novel is a lyrical plea for love in a time of war.
About Karim Kattan
Karim Kattan is a Palestinian writer born in Jerusalem in 1989. He holds a doctorate in comparative literature and has established himself as a distinctive literary voice, weaving fiction, memory, and political reckoning into his work. His debut, Préliminaires pour un verger futur (2017), was followed by his first novel, Le Palais des deux collines (Éditions Elyzad), which won the prestigious Prix des Cinq Continents de la Francophonie in 2021. Shortlisted for the 2024 Prix Renaudot and a finalist for the 2024 Prix de la littérature arabe, his latest book, L’Eden à l’aube, has won the 2024 Prix international Rotary-Pen Club and the 2024 Prix littéraire du 2e roman de Laval.
Join him at two events in London:
- Tue 3 Nov, 18.30
Veranda Books, London
Get tickets here -
Wed 4 Nov, 18.00
Ibraaz London
Get tickets here
Missed him last time?
Karim Kattan was our guest at Beyond Words in May 2025, in conversation with Will Forrester of English PEN about The Palace on the Higher Hill.
- Picture: RTopakian