Review: Leila & Khaled

Leila & Khaled

Author: Nyla Matuk

House of Anasi Press, 2026

ISBN: 9781487013974 (paperback)
9781487013981 (EPUB)

$26.99 CAD (paperback)
$19.99 CAD (EPUB)

249 pages

Ages: Adult

Leila & Khaled is a slow-paced novel set in Palestine from the perspective of a Palestinian-Canadian film scholar. Leila, touring Palestine as part of an academic delegation, meets Khaled, the tour guide helping her better understand her father’s homeland. Through Leila`s ruminations on her romantic encounters with Khaled, the novel explores the politics of interpersonal relationships under occupation and how understandings of diaspora and identity affect a people’s perspective on violence and apartheid. 

Nyla Matuk`s writing style fluctuates between poetic and academic. Dialogue in the novel is socratic in style, serving to consider questions of art, ethics, history, and their intersection in relation to Palestine. This book would appeal to people who enjoy a gentle slow-burn narrative and who are engaged by complex ideas and film references. Leila & Khaled would fit well in public and academic libraries.