Men in the Sun is a novel about three Palestinian men who attempt to find transport across the Middle East to Kuwait, a
country they believe to have greater opportunities for them. Each man and their would-be transporter has a unique story to be told, and the book itself is a rare glimpse into the situation inside the Middle East after 1948, when Israel was established.
Kanafaninotes howthe Arabian countries outside of Palestine were unwilling to accept the displacedPalestinian immigrants. This led to the situation of the men in the novel, who must beillegally transportedinside of a water tanker. Themes of the novel include the immasculation of the Palestinian people, the sun as a draining, crippling object, the infighting of the various Middle Eastern countries, and the disillusionment of the Arabian peoples.
Kanafani likely based many of thenovel's events on his own experiences as a Palestinian himself. He and his family were also forced to flee Palestine upon the mass immigration of the Jews to the region. Kanafani was killed by an Israeli car bomb in 1972.