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lattelibrarian 's review for:
Sadness Is a White Bird
by Moriel Rothman-Zecher
What a tender, soft book. Filled with the horrors of war and joining the army and the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Rothman-Zecher expertly takes a complicated world struggle and transforms it into a humanist, interpersonal narrative.
Jonathan returns to Israel after living in Pennsylvania for some years, and there, he meets Nimreen and Laith, a set of twins who become his best friends. Yet the closer that he gets to his birthday, the more he realizes that he wants to fight for the Jewish army--much to his friends' dismay. For him, there is no choice: it is mandatory. For them, there is always a choice. They love each other, but can such a love rise above a terrible decision?
This book is just beautiful in its own right. Switching between perspectives and times, we slowly get the full story of Jonathan and his interpersonal conflict. He's best friends with Laith, and in love with Nimreen, and also possibly just best friends with Nimreen and in love with Laith. Tenderly addressed to "you", Jonathan appears to speak to Laith, processing all that had happened to place him in prison for disobeying orders. For him, he doesn't know what this means. He disobeyed orders in his mandatory service, but his disobedience perhaps puts him in a better perspective in the eyes of Laith and Nimreen.
It's complicated, subtle, beautiful. What a wonderful book, and a necessary one, too, for today's society.
Review cross-listed here!
Jonathan returns to Israel after living in Pennsylvania for some years, and there, he meets Nimreen and Laith, a set of twins who become his best friends. Yet the closer that he gets to his birthday, the more he realizes that he wants to fight for the Jewish army--much to his friends' dismay. For him, there is no choice: it is mandatory. For them, there is always a choice. They love each other, but can such a love rise above a terrible decision?
This book is just beautiful in its own right. Switching between perspectives and times, we slowly get the full story of Jonathan and his interpersonal conflict. He's best friends with Laith, and in love with Nimreen, and also possibly just best friends with Nimreen and in love with Laith. Tenderly addressed to "you", Jonathan appears to speak to Laith, processing all that had happened to place him in prison for disobeying orders. For him, he doesn't know what this means. He disobeyed orders in his mandatory service, but his disobedience perhaps puts him in a better perspective in the eyes of Laith and Nimreen.
It's complicated, subtle, beautiful. What a wonderful book, and a necessary one, too, for today's society.
Review cross-listed here!