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A review by hayleyslibrarycard
Sadness Is a White Bird by Moriel Rothman-Zecher
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was quite a hard (but important) read. It’s the story of an Israeli man who is on the cusp of adulthood - adulthood that means joining the IDF and fighting for his country and land.) Yonathon meets Palestinian twins Laith and Nimreen and it changes his whole perspective of what it means to live and what’s important. This was such an intense novel, it took me longer to read than I thought cos I had to really be in a place to appreciate its construction and what it was saying amongst all the other information I was getting about Palestine via social media.
It was so poetic, all the tiny little details of breathing, or swallowing or laughter were enhanced and you really felt like you were experiencing it. Lots of metaphor and lingering sentences and descriptions of mundane things.
The cognitive dissonance that our main character had throughout the book was hard to read, the love he felt for his Palestinian friends and the actions he was taking against Palestine and the beliefs he grew up with really were the biggest antagonist in this book. There is also themes of grappling with sexuality and what that means as a soldier and the macho'ness that comes with that which was an interesting plot point too as the novel wound on Yonathon fell more and more in love with the twins.
I felt like I had a better understanding of the way that people in Israel were raised and why they do the things they do through reading this book, and although it was written by an Israeli American I think it was a very neutral (almost more sympathetic to the Palestinian side) but was so interesting to hear that perspective.
I think I’d need to read it again to get a few more of the references, or just think deeper about it. Definitely has made me want to look up and read the poets that are mentioned throughout the novel (and the poem that the books title came from)
Such an immersive book, you can smell, hear, taste and see everything that is going on around Palestine/Israel. Gives great descriptions of checkpoints and the thoughts and feelings that Palestinians and Israelis are feeling in those moments. It’s very tender and very complex and there is a lot of love in this.
It can get a bit over sexualised and a tad graphic (I cringed a few times at the language describing sex and other bodily functions haha).
I would recommend to broaden your horizons and be able to think a little deeper about this genocide and I would definitely read more from this author. Would be a fantastic book club read.
It was so poetic, all the tiny little details of breathing, or swallowing or laughter were enhanced and you really felt like you were experiencing it. Lots of metaphor and lingering sentences and descriptions of mundane things.
The cognitive dissonance that our main character had throughout the book was hard to read, the love he felt for his Palestinian friends and the actions he was taking against Palestine and the beliefs he grew up with really were the biggest antagonist in this book. There is also themes of grappling with sexuality and what that means as a soldier and the macho'ness that comes with that which was an interesting plot point too as the novel wound on Yonathon fell more and more in love with the twins.
I felt like I had a better understanding of the way that people in Israel were raised and why they do the things they do through reading this book, and although it was written by an Israeli American I think it was a very neutral (almost more sympathetic to the Palestinian side) but was so interesting to hear that perspective.
I think I’d need to read it again to get a few more of the references, or just think deeper about it. Definitely has made me want to look up and read the poets that are mentioned throughout the novel (and the poem that the books title came from)
Such an immersive book, you can smell, hear, taste and see everything that is going on around Palestine/Israel. Gives great descriptions of checkpoints and the thoughts and feelings that Palestinians and Israelis are feeling in those moments. It’s very tender and very complex and there is a lot of love in this.
It can get a bit over sexualised and a tad graphic (I cringed a few times at the language describing sex and other bodily functions haha).
I would recommend to broaden your horizons and be able to think a little deeper about this genocide and I would definitely read more from this author. Would be a fantastic book club read.