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levishak 's review for:
Sadness Is a White Bird
by Moriel Rothman-Zecher
An emotional roller coaster ride. The work of fiction was most difficult for me to bear. A description of the attrocities committed by clearly unbalanced IDF soldiers in 1956 filled me with dread and despair. The author's portrayal of first love countered this anger and sadness. I will never abide by the violence committed in the name of Israel's security. However, I am loathe to express my abhorence, since anti-Semites lie in wait to pounce. Constructive criticism of Israel is productive; comparing the IDF to Nazis does nothing but incite more violence. If there is one message here, it is violence begets violence.
The author chose teenagers as the protagonists. Teenagers, in the later teen years before their 20's, impulsively act and react. Testosterone fuels young men to flash and crash at critical touchpoints; they throw jagged rocks and pull the trigger on IDF provided weapons. Beautiful, strong bodies clash in a struggle that results in death on both sides. No one acts reasonably.
There is a greater likelihood that middle aged and older adults will talk to one another. Mellowed and nuanced, they view themselves as victims and perpetrators simultaneously, but not so the recent high school graduates who are drafted.
I connect events in history. Therefore, the unwarranted murder of Palestinian villagers on pp. 132-33 was abhorrent to me. My mind wandered to the Nazi instigated murders in the forests of eastern Europe.
There is much to say about this gorgeously written novel--the poetry, imagery, and setting. The story was a poignant one, with no resolution, symbolic of the continued conflict in Israel and Palestine.
The author chose teenagers as the protagonists. Teenagers, in the later teen years before their 20's, impulsively act and react. Testosterone fuels young men to flash and crash at critical touchpoints; they throw jagged rocks and pull the trigger on IDF provided weapons. Beautiful, strong bodies clash in a struggle that results in death on both sides. No one acts reasonably.
There is a greater likelihood that middle aged and older adults will talk to one another. Mellowed and nuanced, they view themselves as victims and perpetrators simultaneously, but not so the recent high school graduates who are drafted.
I connect events in history. Therefore, the unwarranted murder of Palestinian villagers on pp. 132-33 was abhorrent to me. My mind wandered to the Nazi instigated murders in the forests of eastern Europe.
There is much to say about this gorgeously written novel--the poetry, imagery, and setting. The story was a poignant one, with no resolution, symbolic of the continued conflict in Israel and Palestine.