Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Mornings in Jenin

For readers of Pachinko and Homegoing, another multigenerational saga to shed light on untold stories.

First released in 2006, Mornings in Jenin is credited as the first mainstream novel in English to explore life in post-1948 Palestine. Being "the first" always comes with a lot of pressure, but Abulhawa delivers with a detailed and well-researched timeline of events. As a result, this novel is more historically dense than some of her other works, at times sacrificing story and character development in her commitment to walk the reader through Israeli occupation from the Palestinian perspective.

Abulhawa's attention to detail is for the benefit of western readers, but political specifics are less important to refugees of Jenin who have been displaced and terrorized in response to shifting borders. This is the truth that we all need to understand about war, civilians always pay the highest price in times of conflict.

Although Mornings in Jenin is unable to match my love for Against the Loveless World (only because I prefer a more story-driven approach), I still relished Abulhawa's heartfelt writing. I also feel like a more empathetic and informed person having read it... especially because I spent more time researching these events & context than I did actually reading the book.

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writingcaia's review

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

You will never be the same after this book.
It’s hard to transmit all I’ve felt during it, even now after a few hours.
This book is not only informative and deeply meshed into the history of Palestine, the culture, the family ties, the smell and love of that country, it is also a very open window into the invasion/occupation and conflict with Israel, the camps, the ethnic cleansing, and all the atrocities of the apartheid since.
Although this is the fictional story of a Palestinian family going back three generations when they’re first taken from their ancestral home in 1967 and forced into the Jenin refugee camp travelling time and countries to end in 2003, this is still based on hundreds of real stories that happened during those 40 years.
A book that I now consider a must read to all that want to understand humanity at its most intense level of experience, from love to hatred, loss and despair to hope, from war to art.
The writing is poetic and deeply resonating, and the way it tells of the love of country and people even through such severe loss is humbling and takes you on a journey inside your own feelings as you follow those in this tale.
I cried, despaired, and raged, and still feel the aftershock of all the information, all this history, all these feelings, this is definitely not a book for the faint hearted still I cannot recommend it enough, and will be doing so forever more.

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avidlyalexis's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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annreadsabook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I decided to revisit Susan Abulhawa's writing after reading her latest novel, Against the Loveless World, and once again was so blown away by the passion and strength in her words, particularly in conveying such an overwhelmingly tragic and distressing narrative. This is one of the first English-language fiction books about the experiences and struggles of Palestinians following the Nakba, and I could feel the author's desire to communicate the urgency of the Palestinian struggle.

While the novel primarily focuses on the life and lived experiences of Amal Abulheja, a girl born to Palestinian refugees who were ousted from their ancestral home during the Nakba, it also follows her entire family's trajectory, contemplating the ramifications of displacement and dispossession for her friends and loved ones.

I honestly am not sure that I have anything meaningful to add here because this book conveys everything so powerfully. However, I was particularly struck by Abulhawa's ability to convey the unending trauma experienced by Palestinian adults and children alike amidst the more universally relatable experiences such as childhood crushes and lasting friendships; the isolating sense of not only being an immigrant, but living abroad while one's family is suffering and struggling back home; and being brown in the United States (particularly, Philadelphia, where life is often viewed as being bifurcated between Black and white experiences). Finally, I found myself thinking about the immense privilege I and other people have of being able to wait until we are in a good headspace to delve into this book, while those living through such traumatic, heartbreaking circumstances don't have the ability to easily distance themselves from such pain and turmoil.

Anyway, all of this is to say that Mornings in Jenin is an absolutely stunning, but challenging, novel, and I think that everyone should place it on their reading lists if they haven't done so already.

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