The Almond Tree is the debut novel of Michelle Cohen Corasanti. I was quite intrigued by the fact that Corasanti is a female Jew who writes this book in the voice of a Palestine male! To begin with I was not sure if it could be done but after reading the book I have changed my opinion. If I had not known this beforehand, I would have never guessed.
The story is of Ahmad Hamid and his family. It is a story of hope set in incredible suffering. The backdrop of the book is the Palestine Israel conflict. The difference is in the portrayal of the conflict. It is about Ahmad’s family living in the land occupied by Israelis, it is about losing their siblings to bombs and mines.
It is about living in constant terror. It is about getting caught in the conflict where the father of the family ends up in jail. It is about children of 12 and less then supporting their family by working as construction labors. It is about possessing mathematical genius in middle of this chaos. It is about Ahmad’s journey from hard labor to a top American university and then back to Gaza and beyond.
This book was a hard read, not for the language. It was not for the plot either, for it is compelling. It is a hard read for the sufferings descried. This book is a tearjerker. All the characters of the book are developed with care. But it is the character of Ahmad’s father that really shook me to the core. He gets such a raw deal in life, yet he inspires Ahmed to hope and continue on the path peace. That would require serious courage, a courage almost beyond human power. For me it was a compelling read, I finished it in a few sittings. The message that stayed with me from this book was to never give up!
PS. I was given a copy of this book to review.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing
Thank you Meena.
thank you so much for your review, it was really interesting book and you have wrote an right review for the book 🙂
Thanks.
Looks like a very complex and interesting story that balances the view point…
Thank you so much for the beautiful review. Michelle
You are so multi-talented 🙂 Book- reviewer too 🙂
Nice review 🙂
This title is very interesting. I am also planning to read this. I have seen its review at numerous blogs that I follow.
Not everything is understood by experience, but, knowing about others’ life gives us maturity in what we have no experience. Your review reminds me of Papillon and The Long Walk (I have read the translated versions). Hope to read ‘The Almond Tree’ one day!
Regards,
Sindhu
Tantu
The Arts & Me
Nicely Reviewed.