Reviews

Palestinian Walks: Forays Into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh

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happyeverabigail's review against another edition

5.0

The description of him running to catch the sunset not knowing it is the last time he will be allowed in that particular area hit so hard.

sabzidyke's review

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

juliaehill's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

As someone who loves hiking, and has trekked through some of the beautiful land the author described around Ramallah, this book really resonated. Beautifully melancholy but also with a glimmer of hope, it provides a history of the West Bank land grabs since 1948 from a lawyer who tried to preserve Palestinian land rights over several decades. May the current iteration of the struggle bring forward better days in the region, reparations for Palestinians, and equal rights for all

smass10's review

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

paopaulino's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

notoriousesr's review against another edition

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adventurous informative sad slow-paced

4.0

Palestinian lawyer and activist Raja Shehadeh has always loved hill-walking. In Palestinian Walks, he takes the reader on a series of walks through Palestine, showing how the violence of the Israeli occupation has forever changed his homeland.

I listened to most of this book while walking (through cities, not the hills unfortunately, but still), and I was pretty angry most of the time. Shehadeh writes with clarity and force about the injustice of the Israeli occupation--an injustice performed not only on the Palestinian people, but on the land itself, which is (of course) inextricably entwined with Palestinian life. Also, out of everything I’ve read from Palestinian authors, I think Palestinian Walks best shows the frustration and futility of trying to work within a legal system set up to disenfranchise you, particularly in the chapter entitled “The Albina Case.” Man, that was infuriating, even if the procedural aspects got a bit dry. I also loved the closing chapter, where he happens upon a settler and, while the encounter is tense, it’s ultimately fruitful for both his and the settler’s understanding of their relationship to the land and each other. 4 out of 5 sarhat.