A review by serendipitysbooks
Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 Wild Thorns, originally published in Arabic in 1976, was the first published novel to explore Palestinian life in the West Bank in the relatively early days of the occupation. It’s part family drama, part exploration of how and why different people responded differently to the occupation - why did one family member plan to blow up buses transporting Palestinian workers to jobs in Israel, while another accepted one of those jobs in order to feed his family? - part prison narrative, and so much more. I particularly enjoyed the way the author looked at the different factors which impacted individual Palestinians’ responses to Israeli violence, whether they actively resisted or tried to go about their daily lives, or seemingly accepted the occupation; things like age, class, gender, family responsibilities. The contrast between Usama and Adil, cousins who were once close was particularly impactful in highlighting those differences and exploring different versions of masculinity. The class analysis was strong throughout with a definite Marxian bent. Some readers may find this aspect a little heavy handed and dry. Overall this book did a great job illustrating the situation facing Palestinians under occupation - both the daily petty indignities and the more overt violence - and in highlighting the conundrum of how best to respond. Words were seen as ineffective but direct action and violence would cost the Palestinians dearly. I’m really glad to have read this book. I just wish the recent crisis, far more barbaric than the events of the early days of the occupation depicted here, which put it on my radar had not occurred and was not ongoing. 
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