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A review by samahcanread__
Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
what is the right way to resist?
read during #ReadPalestine Week (27th Nov - 5th Dec)
Wild Thorns begs this question; is the mere existence in the face of the occupation a resistance, or violence resistance is the right way? Our protagonist, Usama, comes back to the West Bank from the Golf countries to find a different Palestine. According to him, Palestinians who are working with Israelis are betraying their cause and nationalism. His cousin is one of them, abandoning his farm to work in Israelis factories.
The book highlights the struggle and the layers of war and the Israeli occupation of Palestine within Palestinian communities. Beside the daily oppression by the IOF, Palestinians are like any other people; struggling to make ends meets, falling in love and trying to make the best of their lives. Usama is the embodiment of the angry resentment many youths have against their oppressors, to the point he came to Nablus to blow one of the buses taking Palestinians from the West Bank to work in the occupied lands by Israel.
Wild Throns is originally published in Arabic under the name , meaning Cacti. Al-Subar in arabic is close to the word "Sabr", which means patience. Patience is a theme dominant in this book; Usama and later his cousin, Basil, are impatient to fight back the IOF. His other cousin, Adil, is patient in his arguments with Usama who is urging him to join the resistance.
I don't think I've read a very nuanced book like this one, giving the characters more layers and making him human in the eye of the reader and not just names on paper.
read during #ReadPalestine Week (27th Nov - 5th Dec)
Wild Thorns begs this question; is the mere existence in the face of the occupation a resistance, or violence resistance is the right way? Our protagonist, Usama, comes back to the West Bank from the Golf countries to find a different Palestine. According to him, Palestinians who are working with Israelis are betraying their cause and nationalism. His cousin is one of them, abandoning his farm to work in Israelis factories.
The book highlights the struggle and the layers of war and the Israeli occupation of Palestine within Palestinian communities. Beside the daily oppression by the IOF, Palestinians are like any other people; struggling to make ends meets, falling in love and trying to make the best of their lives. Usama is the embodiment of the angry resentment many youths have against their oppressors, to the point he came to Nablus to blow one of the buses taking Palestinians from the West Bank to work in the occupied lands by Israel.
Wild Throns is originally published in Arabic under the name , meaning Cacti. Al-Subar in arabic is close to the word "Sabr", which means patience. Patience is a theme dominant in this book; Usama and later his cousin, Basil, are impatient to fight back the IOF. His other cousin, Adil, is patient in his arguments with Usama who is urging him to join the resistance.
I don't think I've read a very nuanced book like this one, giving the characters more layers and making him human in the eye of the reader and not just names on paper.