Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury - part I
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Gate of the Sun, by Elias Khoury - part I

Hosted by Reading Modern Literature

Sun 11 Oct 2026 · 1pm
FreeTickets sold by meetup.com

Join us as we continue our journey through MENA literature by discussing the first part of Khoury's epic novel about the Palestinian struggle.

Publisher's description:

"A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year
One of Kansas City Star's 100 Noteworthy Books of the Year
A Boldtype Notable Book of the Year
A Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Year
A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year

Drawing on the stories he gathered from refugee camps over the course of many years, Elias Khoury's epic novel Gate of the Sun has been called the first magnum opus of the Palestinian saga.

Yunes, an aging Palestinian freedom fighter, lies in a coma. Keeping vigil at the old man's bedside is his spiritual son, Khalil, who nurses Yunes, refusing to admit that his hero may never regain consciousness. Like a modern-day Scheherazade, Khalil relates the story of Palestinian exile while also recalling Yunes's own extraordinary life and his love for his wife, whom he meets secretly over the years at Bab al-Shams, the Gate of the Sun."

For this meeting, we'll be discussing Part I, entitled The Galilee Hospital - just under the first half of the novel. If you don't have a physical copy of the book, you can find a copy of it here:

https://tinyurl.com/574mjxsr

Our plan is to meet at Dokdabang Cafe (독수리 다방) in Sinchon, which is on the 8th floor of the building indicated on the map linked to on this page. The address of Dokdabang is 36, Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03776. Below are Kakao Maps and Naver Maps links to the cafe:

https://kko.kakao.com/-U2GDIbg1b

https://naver.me/G7KDxJuu

If you plan to attend this meeting and would like updates you can join our ‘Reading Modern Lit active’ OpenChat on KakaoTalk. Feel free to leave and return to this chat based on your activity. The purpose of this chat is to better gauge who plans to attend our meetings as there are often no-shows.

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