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klinder 's review for:
Sadness Is a White Bird
by Moriel Rothman-Zecher
Honestly, I was wandering my local Public Library with somewhat of an idea of what I wanted to read and I got distracted. Originally I had planned to pick up one of the many books on my "to-read" list but I found myself drawn to a book display near the entrance of the library with a sign that said, “Fall Into a Good Book.” The books were colour coded to resemble leaves in autumn – burnt orange and deep yellow – and I found myself picking up a book with a beautiful honey-coloured cover, decorated with a white cartoon flower and tendrils of black barbed wire weaving through large, white block letters that read SADNESS IS A WHITE BIRD. On this same cover read a review that said simply: “Unflinching in its honesty, unyielding in its moral complexity.” I immediately took it home without bothering to see what it was about.
This book was amazing. I know most people say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” But I did that, and it was the right call.
Sadness is a White Bird is told from the perspective of a young IDF soldier named Johnathan, who moves back to Israel with his family to spend time with his ill grandfather – a Salonican Jew who fled Greece before his village was wiped out by the Nazis. Johnathan eagerly joins the IDF as a testament to his unflinching Zionism and dedication to his family history, but his relationship to the nation he loves so dearly – that of Israel and the Jewish people – is soon complicated by his blossoming friendship with two Palestinian twins named Laith and Nimreen. Throughout the novel Johnathan struggles with his love for Israel and his exposure to the atrocities faced by Palestinians and Arab Israelis living within a nation of abuse, exclusion, and erasure.
What moved me most about this novel was my connection to Johnathan as a narrator. He was young, yet wise, motivated, yet lost, and clinging to a life he has never had to live. He felt an unconditional responsibility to his people – every decision he made was followed by the shadow of the Holocaust.
If you are looking for a good cry or a reason to explore one of the world's most complex and heartbreaking geo-political issues through the eyes of a teenager, please read this book.
This book was amazing. I know most people say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” But I did that, and it was the right call.
Sadness is a White Bird is told from the perspective of a young IDF soldier named Johnathan, who moves back to Israel with his family to spend time with his ill grandfather – a Salonican Jew who fled Greece before his village was wiped out by the Nazis. Johnathan eagerly joins the IDF as a testament to his unflinching Zionism and dedication to his family history, but his relationship to the nation he loves so dearly – that of Israel and the Jewish people – is soon complicated by his blossoming friendship with two Palestinian twins named Laith and Nimreen. Throughout the novel Johnathan struggles with his love for Israel and his exposure to the atrocities faced by Palestinians and Arab Israelis living within a nation of abuse, exclusion, and erasure.
Spoiler
The book is written almost as if it is one long letter to Laith. There is a beautiful, affectionate quality to Johnathan’s narration that suggests a deeper romantic attachment to the young man. Coupled with Johnathan’s equally affectionate descriptions of Laith’s twin sister, Nimreen, it becomes quite obvious soon into the novel that the narrator has fallen deeply for both characters. The novel’s exploration of Johnathan’s queer, polyamorous identity in addition to his complex relationship to Zionism and Judaism makes for an intricate yet rewarding consideration of modern Israeli youth.What moved me most about this novel was my connection to Johnathan as a narrator. He was young, yet wise, motivated, yet lost, and clinging to a life he has never had to live. He felt an unconditional responsibility to his people – every decision he made was followed by the shadow of the Holocaust.
If you are looking for a good cry or a reason to explore one of the world's most complex and heartbreaking geo-political issues through the eyes of a teenager, please read this book.