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The Lives and Deaths of Jubrail Dabdoub

Or, How the Bethlehemites Discovered Amerka
  • Jacob Norris
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2023
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About this book

This is the fantastical, yet real, story of the merchants of Bethlehem, the young men who traveled to every corner of the globe in the nineteenth century. These men set off on the backs of donkeys with suitcases full of crosses and rosaries, to return via steamship with suitcases stuffed with French francs, Philippine pesos, or Salvadoran colones. They returned with news of mysterious lands and strange inventions—clocks, trains, and other devices that both befuddled and bewitched the Bethlehemites. With newfound wealth, these merchants built shimmering pink mansions that transformed Bethlehem from a rural village into Palestine's wealthiest and most cosmopolitan town. At the center of these extraordinary occurrences lived Jubrail Dabdoub.

  The Lives and Deaths of Jubrail Dabdoub tells the story of Jubrail's encounters, offering a version of Palestinian history rarely acknowledged. From his childhood in rural Bethlehem to later voyages across Europe, East Asia, and the Americas, Jubrail's story culminates in a recorded miracle: in 1909, he was brought back from the dead. To tell such a tale is to delve into the realms of the fantastic and improbable. Through the story of Jubrail's life, Jacob Norris explores the porous lines between history and fiction, the normal and the paranormal, the everyday and the extraordinary.

  Drawing on aspects of magical realism combined with elements of Palestinian folklore, Norris recovers the atmosphere of late nineteenth-century Bethlehem: a mood of excitement, disorientation, and wonder as the town was thrust into a new era. As the book offers an original approach to historical writing, it captures a fantastic story of global encounter and exchange.

Author / Editor information

Jacob Norris is Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern History at the University of Sussex. He is the author of Land of Progress: Palestine in the Age of Colonial Development, 1905–1948 (2013) and codeveloper of the website Planet Bethlehem.

Reviews

"Jacob Norris has written a deeply engaging narrative about Jubrail's life and that of the traveling and migrating Bethlehemites. The story of Jubrail Dabdoub and the Bethlehemites will resonate with many readers who may share similar family stories of ancestors leaving difficult economic circumstances for better opportunities." —Kimberly Katz, Mashriq & Mahjar --- "In a captivating retelling of Bethlehem's late nineteenth-century emigration boom and its age of economic and saintly miracles, The Lives and Deaths of Jubrail Dabdoub pushes the boundaries of historical writing to offer a fresh perspective on the interplay between commerce, religion, and migration in Palestine's pioneering hill town."—Eibhlin Priestley, Jerusalem Quarterly --- "Using a range of sources—the nun's notebooks, parish records, interviews with descendants of the Bethlehem merchants who were active at the turn of the century, memoirs written during those years, other supplemental material to provide context, and his imagination—Norris has written an account that brings to life a town on the cusp of transformation and a population that bravely stepped into the unknown to secure their fortunes."—Ida Audeh, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs --- "Norris' book is an impressive work that offers a captivating glimpse into the history and lifeworld of Bethlehemites in the late 19th century, as he masterfully balances history and fiction to create a hybrid form that is both imaginative and informative."—Karim Kattan, The Markaz Review --- "The Lives and Deaths of Jubrail Dabdoub is a most original treatise on local knowledge—a story of donkeys, suitcases and miracles, and the saga of Bethlehem merchant families moving between Palestine and the Americas. Jacob Norris weaves an astute combination of historical discourse and magical realism."—Salim Tamari, The Jerusalem Quarterly --- "Jacob Norris has pioneered a fresh way to write of Middle Eastern migrants and their peregrinations across space, time, and culture. His wonderfully engrossing use of magical realism cum history allows us to more intimately understand how they navigated and found success in a bewilderingly changing world."—Akram Khater, author of Inventing Home

Topics

  • Publicly Available

    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    Note on Translation and Transliteration

    vii
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    Dabdoub Family Tree

    ix
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    Introduction

    1
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  • Part I
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    1 Of a Land Called Amerka, or How Ammo Hanna Was Saved by al-Khadr

    17
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    2 Of the Hallowed Ridge, or How Jubrail Learned to Profit from Christmas

    23
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    3 Of the Toils of Yousef and Rosa, or How the Bethlehemites Acquired Their Names

    29
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    4 In Which Bethlehem Gets a New Street

    38
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    5 Of Unruly Markets and Underwater Ships

    48
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    6 Of Sunken Eyes in a Casket, or How Bethlehem Came to Be Covered in Dust

    54
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    7 Of Mechanical Wonders on Near and Distant Shores

    59
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  • Part II
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    8 In Search of Amerka

    79
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    9 Of Troubles on the Trocadéro

    89
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    10 Of the Decline of Hosh Dabdoub, or How Jubrail’s Schooling Came in Useful

    98
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    11 Of a Street Named Rosario

    104
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    12 By the Truth of al-Khadr, I Went and Came Back!

    111
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    13 Of White Cities and Bronze Medals

    116
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    14 Of Fertility Potions and the Dizzying Heights of Success

    127
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  • Part III
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    15 Of Weeping Icons, Ghostly Armies, and Visions of the Virgin

    143
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    16 Of the Enchanted Palaces of Bethlehem

    149
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    17 Of Hyenas, Serpents, and French Philanthropists

    157
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    18 Of the Resurrection of Jubrail Dabdoub

    166
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    Epilogue

    173
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    Author’s Commentary

    183
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    Acknowledgments

    203
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    Glossary of Arabic Terms

    205
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    Notes

    207
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
November 10, 2022
eBook ISBN:
9781503633766
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
290
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503633766
eBook ISBN: 9781503633766
Keywords for this book
Palestine; Bethlehem; global history; Arab diaspora; creative histories; magical realism
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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