review by Corinna Christopher on show 5th Jan 2012
To quote from the back cover “this is a devastating novel of love and loss, war and oppression, heartbreak and hope, spanning five generations of one of the most intractable conflicts of our time”
Mornings in Jenin follows 4 generations of the Abulheja family through violence and upheaval in their homeland, The family have deep roots in Ein Hod, a tranquil village of olive farmers. It starts in 1948 when Israel is declared a state and the entire community of Ein Hod is forced to move to a refugee camp in Jenin. Dalia and Hasan have two sons and one of them is snatched away by an Israeli soldier who is filled with jealousy that his wife has no son. This Palestinian boy Ismael is brought up as David a Jewish son.
Later on Dalia and Hasan have a daughter Amal and most of the subsequent story is told through her eyes. In order to pursue her education she travels to America but loses almost everyone she loves in the Lebanon war. She has to raise her daughter Sara by herself far from her homeland. A visit from her long-lost brother David restores her identity and results in a return trip to the Middle East with disastrous consequences .
This is an excerpt from Amal’s thoughts on her return to Jenin. “The air was busy, everything seemed to move and scurry, even children played nervously. Young men washed clean of dreams, ran in the alleyways with rifles strapped to their bodies. They were preparing for the inevitable, stocking up on food, setting up defenses, booby traps, and sandbags against the coming storm. Suicide bombers locking their belts, lovers locking their arms, little girls locking their knees and mothers packing their children into the innermost, lower most rooms”.
This is a very moving and powerful story which resonates with authenticity and passion. The suffering of these people is emotionally affecting to the reader. The events related have happened in my lifetime and made me realise how little I have understood this complex situation. This book has certainly opened my eyes to the injustices that the Palestine people have endured and sadly at this moment in time there is still no solution to this endless retaliatory killing.
The author was born to refugees of the Six Day War of 1967, when her family’s land was seized and Israel captured what remained of Palestine, including Jerusalem. She moved to the U.S.A. as a teenager where she established a career in medical science. She is involved with an organisation to uphold Play for Palestine children This is her first novel and is being published in 19 countries. She lives in Pennsylvania with her daughter.
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