Culture & Arts
Azem's novel explores interrogation and sleep deprivation in Palestinian detention
Image credit: ArabLit
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Ibtisam Azem's novel "The Sleep Thief," translated by Sinan Antoon, centers on Palestinian protagonist Gharib Haifawi and his experience of systematic abuse during imprisonment, ArabLit reported. In the book's opening pages, Haifawi recounts how interrogators dubbed him the "sleep thief"—a dark inversion referencing the deliberate sleep deprivation he suffered at their hands during his time in custody.
The work examines the psychological aftermath of detention through the lens of this interrogation tactic, using the metaphor of stolen sleep to trace how such practices affect consciousness, memory, and resistance. Azem's narrative confronts the mechanisms of control employed during questioning and their lasting impact on the detained individual.
