Sometimes spreading anti-Semitism in book form is a good idea, as in Auschwitz: The Underground Guided Tour in which the proud neo-Nazi author says the Germans were horribly upset that the Jews were living in such luxury in Auschwitz and they, outside the walls, weren't. Right. 5* that and you've outed yourself :-) Anyway books that are more entertaining than upsetting, although you can't say that for the neo-Nazi author Carolyn Yeager.
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I kind of inwardly gasped at one of the of this book that was sheer hatred, "The story, I would say, was written by western way of thinking making the Jews seem less harmful than what they really are." I wonder how that reviewer would feel if someone let out a load of anti-Islamic hatred akin to that?

Hatred serves no one but feeds mistrust, conspiracy theories, propaganda and ultimately people killing for what they think is the right thing but is only some prejudice that their parents, school or culture decided it would be a Good Thing to make sure the children were brainwashed in.

The other day in the shop there was a Guyanese Muslim, a good customer who buys a lot of books for her child, Guyanese don't ever wear hijab or really seem different in any way from Guyanese Hindus. There was one of those too, she'd popped down from my cafe upstairs which she rents to see if anyone wanted some peera (fudgy little milk balls) she'd made. And a Seventh Day Adventist, a Catholic, my clerk who belongs to the Church of God of Prophecy, a Buddhist who teaches meditation and yoga and me, a Jew. We were all eating peera and discussing atlases and who draws up the political lines and whether atlases published in different countries reflect their prejudices or if there is some sort of standard one. This is why it is fabulous having a bookshop on a small island, customers often, every day, get into discussions

No one was fighting, talking about killing,, talking about our differences, it was just about atlases. Normal stuff really. Can't we all try and get along that?

Rewritten and shortened, a lot, July 2019 GR Support (the people who get the things we flag) attitude to anti-Semitism might be more akin to the Labour Party in the UK than anything else, but what's the point?2017-100- books-reviewed-but-not-read misc-reference ...more120 s Jim Fonseca1,119 7,477

It’s tough growing up as a Palestinian in Israel. This book takes us back through the reminiscences of Hind Al-Husseini, a “grande dame” of the Palestinian people who started an orphanage for girls homeless by political violence. The orphanage eventually grew into a school for women leaders in Palestine.



While the book has a pro-Palestinian bias and cites many travesties by the Israelis, it is not an anti-Israel screed. It shows respect for Israeli liberals who support Palestine and worked with the Palestinians in demonstrations that led to various political gains. We see tales of friendship between Israelis and Palestinians.



The book also offers a genuine and non-whitewashed perspective on Palestinian life through the lives of the various young women in the school. We see factional Palestinian-on-Palestinian violence, and tales of spousal abuse and molestation of daughters by fathers.

With its focus on the women’s school in a patriarchal culture, this book is just as much about dreams of women’s liberation as it is about Palestinian liberation.



The author (b.1973) is an Israeli Arab with a daughter named Miral. The author’s mother was so abused as a child that she walked into the sea and drowned herself when the author was five years old. Her father put her in the orphanage of which she later wrote. The author has also been a commentator on MSNBC.

Top photo of Hind Al-Husseini from www.akhbarelbalad.net
Middle photo from politico.com
The author from gettyimages.com

Edited and pictures added 3/22/2020
feminist palestinian-authors67 s Alyssa47

I loved this book and 100% recommend it as a must read for everyone--particularly Americans who are either living in blissful ignorance about the history and root conflict in the Palestinian/Israel region and, even more, individuals who have blindly accepted one biased side of the story (either throwing all support behind the actions of the Israeli government or agreeing, in theory, with the rage of the extremist Palestinians). It is not so simple, and while it is easy to label one side as terrorists or the other as oppressors, this book lends an impactful and TRUE insight into the internal struggles of the region showing that by and large people on both sides are just that--people, with hopes and dreams and challenges, and that based on the actions of third party governing they are a people at odds, the happiness and success of one dependant on the unhappiness and displacement of another.

In it you are able to glean bits and pieces of the centuries old conflict and uprooting of the region and really see the struggle of diverse peoples looking for their roots, hanging onto their heritage, and hoping to forge or hold on to a lasting identity in the midst of chaos and a desperate fight for a homeland.

More than anything this book shows the centrifugal cycle of violence that has erupted and the extremism in leadership that nearly inevitably unfolds in every nation's political machine, though the bulk of the population favors a much more moderate approach--and in this case, agreement. It shows the fight for power, exposes the destructive power hungry forces at work--both within the region and throughout the world, as international leaders either hope to help or ignore, according to what action they will most gain from--and the sad reality of a marginalized population who have become mere pawns to an international chess game.

Above all, it is a desperate call for peaceful negotiations. It is a call to recognize the Palestinians as a people, and for Palestinians to recognize that they must share their city with the Jews, just as in ancient days of old. One city or two cities, one government or two governments, it is a call for validating and recognizing the rights of all individuals to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a cry for a new generation to rise up and decide to choose to change the course of history, to abandon the extremism-the violence and intimidation (from both sides) and to establish a new discourse: one based on respect, hope, peace, freedom.

It is also a glimpse into the mind of a fanatic: a realistic portrayal of what the non-life of refugee camps is made of, the childhood robbed by far too many arab children, and the all too easy course to buy into extremist leadership as an outlet for the rage felt by those robbed of too many the happinesses that make life worth living.

Yes, this book is translated from Italian, and, as they say, much of the finesse, I am sure, was "lost in translation." Yes, there was incongruity in character, flawed plot develpment, dangling storylines...but who cares: at least in my opinion, the "fluff" of the story is not what makes this book relevant, riveting, or worth reading (though it is all those things).

It also is approached with a very journalistic style. While some critics have faulted this, I do not. I found that the journalistic voice was perhaps one of the only ways to NOT take sides, to present the facts as they are rather than as one wants to see them...no easy feat as an author or reader when we all have pre-conceived notions and impulses to feel more greatly for one side or the other. It did create a more dry read, but a worthwhile and enjoyable one nevertheless.

It was not a book I HAD to read in the moment. I could put it down for several days at a time, but I always wanted to read more. I don't know that I was vested in Miral or many of the characters, but I was vested in the region, its history, its conflict, and wanted to read more to really experience an inside glimpse of what life is . If you read this book looking for a great work of fiction, a strong female voice, and a fanciful read, look elsewhere. If you want an interesting historical fiction, with some interesting characters, and an objective yet intense look at the Palestinian/Israeli conflict: read Miral.

11 s Sue1,307 578

I feel a bit bad about rating this so poorly. I started the book and had hopes for it. It's not the story that I disd but the writing and after a short time I realized that the style almost aggravated me so I stopped and won't go back.

The story had much potential if dealt with well...saving orphaned children after the forcible removal, and murder, of Arabs living in what was to become Israel in 1948.israel-palestine library-book7 s Kkraemer790 21

I learned some things from this novelized memoir, but either the writer or the translator lacked the knowledge of English that would allow this book to read well or dramatically. Lots of long sentences that meandered to their ends, giving the whole thing a flat sense, devoid of drama or emphasis. 5 s Dana147 1 follower

I love reading Palestinian Literature
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