Oranges

A heartfelt graphic memoir that peels back layers of personal history, trauma, and resilience through generations of Palestinian diaspora

Kites, comic books, a full house of characters: these are some of the things Ahmad Qatato remembers from his time living in Amman's refugee camp. Years later, while living in Milan and shaken by the news of fresh conflict in Gaza, it is the smell of an orange in a supermarket that takes him back to that time, and his grandfather’s story of their magical home on the hillside in Jaffa.

Ahmad tells the story of his family over three generations: his grandparents, orange farmers who were forced to flee their land in 1948; his parents, childhood sweethearts who dreamt of building a new life; and Ahmad and his friends, the third generation scattered across different countries, striving to reconnect with their heritage.

Burning, full of heart and beautifully illustrated, Oranges is a powerful exploration of the stories we carry that shape who we are.