Sabra Zoo

WINNER OF THE 2011 COMMONWEALTH WRITER’S PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST BOOKSummer 1982: Beirut is under siege.Eighteen-year-old Ivan’s parents have just been evacuated from the city with other members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.Ivan stays on, interpreting for international medical volunteers in Sabra refugee camp and working undercover for the PLO. Hoping to get closer to Eli, a Norwegian physiotherapist, he helps her treat Youssef, a camp orphan disabled by a cluster bomb. An unexpected friendship develops between the three and things begin to look up.But events take a nasty turn when the president-elect is assassinated. The Israeli army enters Beirut and surrounds the camp, with Eli and Youssef trapped inside. What happens next makes international headlines and leaves Ivan scrabbling to salvage something positive from the chaos.