‘Sleep thief is what the interrogator called me. I’ll never forget that. I would steal a few seconds of sleep so I could remain steadfast before them. The name stuck; I even dreamt about it, the same dream, night after night. I woke up not knowing what to do and drenched in sweat.’

The experimental first novel from International Booker-Prize longlisted Palestinian author Ibtisam Azem, The Sleep Thief follows the life of Gharib (“the Stranger”) Haifawi as he comes of age, is drawn into resistance, makes friends, meets lovers, pushes back against traditional values, longs to be free of the labels and expectations that burden him, rails against the commodification of suffering, and dreams of a Palestinian identity that will transcend sorrow.

We are delighted to welcome Ibtisam Azem to bookhaus, where she will be in conversation with Sabrin Hasbun. Tickets cost £7 and include a glass of wine or soft drink and £2 off the book. Presented by bookhaus.

Molly Crabapple

> ‘The bohemian Gharib Haifawi is an irresistable guide through the dreams and nightmares of a Palestine that still exists despite the violent superimposition of the Israeli state. Written in prose that evokes in the spirits of Emile Habibi and Daniil Kharms, The Sleep Thief is a surreal, brilliant dagger of a book.’

### Hannah Lillith Assadi

> ‘Ibtisam Azem's The Sleep Thief is the surreal and gorgeously imagined story of Palestinian Gharib Haifawi of Haifa. Rendered in the poetic register of a dream, this narrative tracks its protagonist's coming of age against the historical years between the Naksa and the Intifadas. This beautiful debut novel is a portrait of resistance, grief, and ultimate triumph.’

### The International Booker Prize 2025 Judges (On The Book of Disappearance)


> 'Speculative and haunting, this is an exceptional exercise in memory-making and psycho-geography'