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Sadness Is a White Bird
In this lyrical and searing debut novel written by a rising literary star and MacDowell Fellow, a young man is preparing to serve in the Israeli army while also trying to reconcile his close relationship to two Palestinian siblings with his deeply ingrained loyalties to family and country.
The story begins in an Israeli military jail, where — four days after his nineteenth birthday — Jonathan stares up at the fluorescent lights of his cell, and recalls the series of events that led him there.
Two years earlier: Moving back to Israel after several years in Pennsylvania, Jonathan is ready to fight to preserve and defend the Jewish state, which his grandfather — a Salonican Jew whose community was wiped out by the Nazis — helped establish. But he is also conflicted about the possibility of having to monitor the occupied Palestinian territories, a concern that grows deeper and more urgent when he meets Nimreen and Laith — the twin daughter and son of his mother’s friend.
From that winter morning on, the three become inseparable: wandering the streets on weekends, piling onto buses toward new discoveries, laughing uncontrollably. They share joints on the beach, trading snippets of poems, intimate secrets, family histories, resentments, and dreams. But with his draft date rapidly approaching, Jonathan wrestles with the question of what it means to be proud of your heritage and loyal to your people, while also feeling love for those outside of your own tribal family. And then that fateful day arrives, the one that lands Jonathan in prison and changes his relationship with the twins forever.
Powerful, important, and timely, Sadness Is a White Bird explores one man’s attempts to find a place for himself, discovering in the process a beautiful, against-the-odds love that flickers like a candle in the darkness of a never-ending conflict.
The story begins in an Israeli military jail, where — four days after his nineteenth birthday — Jonathan stares up at the fluorescent lights of his cell, and recalls the series of events that led him there.
Two years earlier: Moving back to Israel after several years in Pennsylvania, Jonathan is ready to fight to preserve and defend the Jewish state, which his grandfather — a Salonican Jew whose community was wiped out by the Nazis — helped establish. But he is also conflicted about the possibility of having to monitor the occupied Palestinian territories, a concern that grows deeper and more urgent when he meets Nimreen and Laith — the twin daughter and son of his mother’s friend.
From that winter morning on, the three become inseparable: wandering the streets on weekends, piling onto buses toward new discoveries, laughing uncontrollably. They share joints on the beach, trading snippets of poems, intimate secrets, family histories, resentments, and dreams. But with his draft date rapidly approaching, Jonathan wrestles with the question of what it means to be proud of your heritage and loyal to your people, while also feeling love for those outside of your own tribal family. And then that fateful day arrives, the one that lands Jonathan in prison and changes his relationship with the twins forever.
Powerful, important, and timely, Sadness Is a White Bird explores one man’s attempts to find a place for himself, discovering in the process a beautiful, against-the-odds love that flickers like a candle in the darkness of a never-ending conflict.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2018
142 people are currently reading
6,583 people want to read
About the author
Moriel Rothman-Zecher
8 books130 followersMoriel Rothman-Zecher is the author of the novels Before All the World (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022), which was named an NPR Best Book of 2022, and Sadness Is a White Bird (Atria Books, 2018), which was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the National Jewish Book Award, the winner of the Ohioana Book Award, and longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. He is the recipient of the National Book Foundation '5 Under 35' honor, two MacDowell Fellowships for Literature, and a Wallis Annenberg Helix Fellowship for Yiddish Cultural Studies. Moriel's work has been published in The American Poetry Review, Barrelhouse, Colorado Review, The Common, The New York Times, The Paris Review's Daily, Runner's World, ZYZZYVA, and elsewhere. He lives in Philadelphia, and teaches creative writing at Swarthmore College.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 348 reviews
December 3, 2017
Extraordinary! I had started this book 2 days ago...a day after having surgery....loved it immediately...but between lots of extra sleep - it wasn’t until today, when I read most of it in a final sweep sitting. For those whom I owe messages to - forgive me — this novel became impossible to put down.
We know Jonathan is in an Israeli military jail at the start of this novel.....
This story absolutely takes your breath away - so incredibly well written -
Many of my own memories came rushing back to me when I was young and foolish hitchhiking in Israel with my Israeli boyfriend - who asked me to marry him - ( I said no)...and a group of friends - going up into the mountains in places where Palestinians lived. We took pictures of families living in tents...remembering risks ....and crazy fun days.....also remembering when I studied at the University of Haifa.
But this book does something soooo brilliant- the best I’ve ever read -about a soldier questioning his heritage, his loyalty to his tribe.
It’s SO PERSONAL and REAL.....I LOVED IT!
The characters - the relationships - and the dialogue create such crystalline truth that our hearts ache!!! Fridays in this book will never be forgotten.
“We did see each other the next Friday, Laith, and the Friday after that, and the one after that, until it became a quasireligious ritual that none of us atheistic wanted to desecrate. Almost every Friday night for the next eight months. These Friday nights
with you and Nimreen became the highlight of my weeks, surpassing even the late evenings with Avichai and Rinat and the others, where our conversations focused more and more around our upcoming draft dates”.
There was something very special between Jonathan,(or called Yonatan), and twins, Laith and Nimreen. Jonathan kept his Fridays —and friendship with the two siblings from his other friends for a long time.
As to whether or not Jonathan‘s secrecy was precautionary having the foresight to see that ugliness could arise given that they were Palestinian and he a Jew..... or if he was fooling himself into believing that if he kept the two worlds separate then he might never have to choose between the two.....was the tightrope he walked.
On those Fridays the three of them laughed constantly, smoked at least a kilogram of marijuana, enjoyed the beaches, sometimes they went to Brit al-Asal, to the Twins family’s house. Another time they had lunch at his family‘s place in Pardes Ya’akov— but much of the time they just wandered.... hitchhiking.....having so much fun taking care of each other.
Laith and Nimreen were well on their way to making Yonatan an honorary Palestinian.
Jonathan thought about how his friends or grandfather- Saba Yehuda -would react if they knew that Jonathan felt complemented, validated, and elated to be part of the siblings world. Another part of him felt strange and bad. He was not a Palestinian. He also didn’t actually want to become one.
Saying much more - as to what happened - and why Jonathan is in prison would be too much of a spoiler.
Definitely one of the best books out this year....political upheaval has never felt more in your face.
We know Jonathan is in an Israeli military jail at the start of this novel.....
This story absolutely takes your breath away - so incredibly well written -
Many of my own memories came rushing back to me when I was young and foolish hitchhiking in Israel with my Israeli boyfriend - who asked me to marry him - ( I said no)...and a group of friends - going up into the mountains in places where Palestinians lived. We took pictures of families living in tents...remembering risks ....and crazy fun days.....also remembering when I studied at the University of Haifa.
But this book does something soooo brilliant- the best I’ve ever read -about a soldier questioning his heritage, his loyalty to his tribe.
It’s SO PERSONAL and REAL.....I LOVED IT!
The characters - the relationships - and the dialogue create such crystalline truth that our hearts ache!!! Fridays in this book will never be forgotten.
“We did see each other the next Friday, Laith, and the Friday after that, and the one after that, until it became a quasireligious ritual that none of us atheistic wanted to desecrate. Almost every Friday night for the next eight months. These Friday nights
with you and Nimreen became the highlight of my weeks, surpassing even the late evenings with Avichai and Rinat and the others, where our conversations focused more and more around our upcoming draft dates”.
There was something very special between Jonathan,(or called Yonatan), and twins, Laith and Nimreen. Jonathan kept his Fridays —and friendship with the two siblings from his other friends for a long time.
As to whether or not Jonathan‘s secrecy was precautionary having the foresight to see that ugliness could arise given that they were Palestinian and he a Jew..... or if he was fooling himself into believing that if he kept the two worlds separate then he might never have to choose between the two.....was the tightrope he walked.
On those Fridays the three of them laughed constantly, smoked at least a kilogram of marijuana, enjoyed the beaches, sometimes they went to Brit al-Asal, to the Twins family’s house. Another time they had lunch at his family‘s place in Pardes Ya’akov— but much of the time they just wandered.... hitchhiking.....having so much fun taking care of each other.
Laith and Nimreen were well on their way to making Yonatan an honorary Palestinian.
Jonathan thought about how his friends or grandfather- Saba Yehuda -would react if they knew that Jonathan felt complemented, validated, and elated to be part of the siblings world. Another part of him felt strange and bad. He was not a Palestinian. He also didn’t actually want to become one.
Saying much more - as to what happened - and why Jonathan is in prison would be too much of a spoiler.
Definitely one of the best books out this year....political upheaval has never felt more in your face.
November 4, 2017
Once in a while if we as readers are lucky, pick up a book that effects us profoundly. For me, it was this book, I kept putting it down, to think about what I was reading, and yes even to let my emotions level out. The subject is a complicated one, Jewish and Arab relations in Isreal, but the author gives us a personal viewpoint, using three friends, two Arab, one Jewish. When the book opens, Jonathan sits in a jail, he is our narrator and their story is revealed as Jonathan writes to his Arab friend, Laith.
Using a letter, we are privvy to Jonathan's most personal thoughts and experiences, essentially placed inside his mind. His conflicted thoughts, as now shortly after his nineteenth birthday, he is in the military, something all Isrealis of this age must do, but can't figure out where his loyalties lie. Do they like with the country he has sworn to protect, his grandfather insists the Jewish people are his family and that is all he needs to consider. What about his derp friendships, love for Laith and his twin sister? Where does this fit in, and how can he fight against a people who he can't hate. Learning the back stories of his own grandfather and the grandmother of the twins, leads him to only more doubt.
As far as novels go this is short in pages, but large in content. It is powerful and intense. The author presents all sides in this conflict, and it is these many sides that Jonathan tries to solidify into a cohesive whole. It is a novel of a deep friendship, and a young man who feels greatly. I sometimes wonder what would happen if the young people on both sides of this conflict, well any conflict really, put down their guns and refused to fight any longer. No longer wanting to watch their friends die, their families and countries torn apart. Just said no more to following leaders blindly. It will never happen, but wouldn't it be wonderful if it did?
Another read with Angela and Esil, this book probably the best one we have read together. I cherish these reads and the thoughts we share.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Using a letter, we are privvy to Jonathan's most personal thoughts and experiences, essentially placed inside his mind. His conflicted thoughts, as now shortly after his nineteenth birthday, he is in the military, something all Isrealis of this age must do, but can't figure out where his loyalties lie. Do they like with the country he has sworn to protect, his grandfather insists the Jewish people are his family and that is all he needs to consider. What about his derp friendships, love for Laith and his twin sister? Where does this fit in, and how can he fight against a people who he can't hate. Learning the back stories of his own grandfather and the grandmother of the twins, leads him to only more doubt.
As far as novels go this is short in pages, but large in content. It is powerful and intense. The author presents all sides in this conflict, and it is these many sides that Jonathan tries to solidify into a cohesive whole. It is a novel of a deep friendship, and a young man who feels greatly. I sometimes wonder what would happen if the young people on both sides of this conflict, well any conflict really, put down their guns and refused to fight any longer. No longer wanting to watch their friends die, their families and countries torn apart. Just said no more to following leaders blindly. It will never happen, but wouldn't it be wonderful if it did?
Another read with Angela and Esil, this book probably the best one we have read together. I cherish these reads and the thoughts we share.
ARC from Edelweiss.
November 14, 2017
Oh, wow, this book was so gorgeous and moving and amazing! (Sorry I'm not more enthusiastic about it.)
Jonathan has just turned 19 and is serving in the Israeli army, a responsibility he has taken very seriously. Yet when Sadness is a White Bird begins, Jonathan is in a military prison, telling his story as a letter of sorts to one of his best friends. But how did someone so eager to serve his country wind up in prison, doubting whether military action against the Arabs is the right thing to do?
Although he was born in Israel, Jonathan and his family lived in Pennsylvania for a number of years before he persuaded them to return to their homeland so he could serve in the army, as required of all Israeli citizens. Jonathan's grandfather, who was from the Greek city of Salonica (also known as Thessaloniki), saw his entire community wiped out by the Holocaust, and through his sorrow, played a role in the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948, so Jonathan sees military service as a family inheritance.
When he meets brother and sister Laith and Nimreen, twin children of one of his mother's Palestinian friends, the three become immediately inseparable. Through their weekly adventures, they talk, share poems (and joints), and Jonathan begins to see what life in Israel is like for Arabs. While his first reaction is to defend his country's efforts to protect itself from militant Arabs, Nimreen and Laith try to explain Palestinians' allegiance to the same country, yet view their treatment by Israelis as persecution not protection. It's not long before Jonathan wonders if he really believes in the country he will be defending, whether it is possible to love your country yet question its motives at the same time.
The story weaves back and forth between Jonathan's time with Nimreen and Laith and the growing love he has for both of him, and his time in the military, leading up to the actions which land him in prison. Nimreen and Laith don't understand why Jonathan is still so adamant about serving in the military when he has begun to see that blind allegiance is not the only path, and it strains their relationship. Jonathan is torn between pride in his country and the comradeship he finds in the army, and knowing one day he may come in direct conflict with people dear to Laith and Nimreen.
This is an absolutely beautiful and poignant book, in part a coming-of-age novel, in part a story of self-discovery, as well as a story about how our idealism and naivete change as we grow older. This is a story about longing and belonging, about how sometimes there is a gap between what is expected and what is right. Moriel Rothman-Zecher does such a wonderful job taking you along Jonathan's path of self-discovery, feeling the things he feels, and he keeps you in suspense as to why he is in prison, and whether the letter he is writing will ever reach its intended audience.
I absolutely loved this book and found it very surprising at times. The characters are so memorable, and Rothman-Zecher's storytelling is so lyrical and beautiful. It will be some time before I get this one out of my head, not that I want to. My thanks to Esil, Diane S, and Angela M, whose reviews made me request this from NetGalley instantly!!
NetGalley and Atria Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Jonathan has just turned 19 and is serving in the Israeli army, a responsibility he has taken very seriously. Yet when Sadness is a White Bird begins, Jonathan is in a military prison, telling his story as a letter of sorts to one of his best friends. But how did someone so eager to serve his country wind up in prison, doubting whether military action against the Arabs is the right thing to do?
Although he was born in Israel, Jonathan and his family lived in Pennsylvania for a number of years before he persuaded them to return to their homeland so he could serve in the army, as required of all Israeli citizens. Jonathan's grandfather, who was from the Greek city of Salonica (also known as Thessaloniki), saw his entire community wiped out by the Holocaust, and through his sorrow, played a role in the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948, so Jonathan sees military service as a family inheritance.
When he meets brother and sister Laith and Nimreen, twin children of one of his mother's Palestinian friends, the three become immediately inseparable. Through their weekly adventures, they talk, share poems (and joints), and Jonathan begins to see what life in Israel is like for Arabs. While his first reaction is to defend his country's efforts to protect itself from militant Arabs, Nimreen and Laith try to explain Palestinians' allegiance to the same country, yet view their treatment by Israelis as persecution not protection. It's not long before Jonathan wonders if he really believes in the country he will be defending, whether it is possible to love your country yet question its motives at the same time.
The story weaves back and forth between Jonathan's time with Nimreen and Laith and the growing love he has for both of him, and his time in the military, leading up to the actions which land him in prison. Nimreen and Laith don't understand why Jonathan is still so adamant about serving in the military when he has begun to see that blind allegiance is not the only path, and it strains their relationship. Jonathan is torn between pride in his country and the comradeship he finds in the army, and knowing one day he may come in direct conflict with people dear to Laith and Nimreen.
This is an absolutely beautiful and poignant book, in part a coming-of-age novel, in part a story of self-discovery, as well as a story about how our idealism and naivete change as we grow older. This is a story about longing and belonging, about how sometimes there is a gap between what is expected and what is right. Moriel Rothman-Zecher does such a wonderful job taking you along Jonathan's path of self-discovery, feeling the things he feels, and he keeps you in suspense as to why he is in prison, and whether the letter he is writing will ever reach its intended audience.
I absolutely loved this book and found it very surprising at times. The characters are so memorable, and Rothman-Zecher's storytelling is so lyrical and beautiful. It will be some time before I get this one out of my head, not that I want to. My thanks to Esil, Diane S, and Angela M, whose reviews made me request this from NetGalley instantly!!
NetGalley and Atria Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
November 4, 2017
When I started to read this story about a young Israeli man who develops a close relationship with a Palestinian brother and sister, it reminded me of a book I read this year, All the Rivers . That one is about an Israeli woman and Palestinian young man who are living in New York and fall in love . Both of these books reflect on the difficulty of deeply emotional relationships charged with the current political and historical reality of the conflict. This beautifully written story begins with Jonathan who has recently joined the Israeli army, but now he sits in prison. He speaks to Laith, his Palestinian friend, almost a love letter, trying to make sense out of what has happened. Through flashbacks, this introspective and truly intimate narrative reveals not just the complex and brutally honest connections between Jonathan, Laith and his twin sister Nimreen , but their family histories and horrific experiences of their grandparents. Both of these stories are heart wrenching and they in so many ways represent how torn Jonathan is - wanting to serve, to represent his heritage and at the same time not wanting to harm innocent people. The pain he feels as he is torn between his duty to serve, his feelings for his grandfather, especially after his trip to Greece, and his love of Nimreen and Laith is palatable.
I loved that Nimreen and Laithe try to list for Jonathan the twenty six Arabic synonyms for love, one of which is Al-Jouah, "love that leaves you with a feeling of, like, deep sadness." That deep sadness is the feeling I was left with. I wish I could say that I found answers here. I didn't. What I did find was a powerful and thought provoking story filled with deep friendships, love and compassion, a story that I highly recommend.
Thanks to my Goodreads friends Diane and Esil for another fantastic read together.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley.
September 30, 2024
When we’re young, we see all the things we want to change, believing those changes to be easy to accomplish. We find, define our own idea of beauty, we find, define the idea of what we want our “home” to be like, to feel like, a place where our values are part of our lives, our days, where we find acceptance of those values among those we love. Living in harmony. Finding forgiveness from others, from ourselves – hopefully, ultimately – for those we’ve hurt, offended. If we’re lucky, we find love, and build upon that love so that it lasts a lifetime.
This story is told through letters written by Jonathan, who spent some of his youth in America, but returns to Israel where his grandfather, who lived through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, convinces him of the honor and duty inherent in serving Israel. Led by the words of his grandfather, Jonathan becomes devoted to his grandfather’s dreams of recapturing some of that which he lost when they were forced to leave Palestine. At the same time he is befriending twins Laith and Nimreen, Palestinian Arabs.
“Through the corridors of sleep
Past the shadows dark and deep
My mind dances and leaps in confusion.
I don't know what is real,
I can't touch what I feel
And I hide behind the shield of my illusion.
So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall.”
-- Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall – lyrics by Paul Simon
Laith and his twin sister, Nimreen, became his voices of the other side of the political divide, although not in the beginning, but as time goes by the friendship becomes strained. Loving someone whose ideologies are so far apart complicates their relationships, Jonathan is convinced he is right to follow the plan his grandfather had outlined for him for so many years, and Laith and Nimreen are equally convinced of their view being right.
“The mirror on my wall
Casts an image dark and small
But I'm not sure at all it's my reflection.
I am blinded by the light
Of God and truth and right
And I wander in the night without direction.
So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall.”
-- Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall – lyrics by Paul Simon
Through these letters, thoughts, journal entries, he writes to Laith, recalling memories of times long ago to this friend he feels he’s lost along the way, sharing his thoughts and feelings. The setting, as he writes this, is in an Iranian military jail cell, four days after his nineteenth birthday. The story of how he came to be there, of everything that precedes this, everything that led to this point in time told in flashbacks of time.
"It's no matter if you're born
To play the King or pawn
For the line is thinly drawn 'tween joy and sorrow,
So my fantasy
Becomes reality,
And I must be what I must be and face tomorrow.
So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall"
-- Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall – lyrics by Paul Simon
I loved the inclusion of some lines from the poem that the title of this book is based on, “A Soldier Dreams of White Tulips” by Mahmoud Darwish, and another poem, “My Mother Baked the Whole World for Me“ by Yehuda Amichai. I loved that it included the fact that there are 26 words for love in Arabic, including ‘Al-Jouah,’ a “love that leaves you with a feeling of, like, deep sadness,” now I have a word for what I feel after reading this amazingly lovely, yet incredibly sad story.
A beautifully rendered, poignant story, part coming-of-age, partly a story that shows the ravages of war on those carrying out the orders of those waging it, the idealism behind the scene, and the devastation - physical, mental and emotional - of actually being in the battle. This is also, in part, a love story, but certainly not your average love story.
Pub Date: 13 Feb 2018
Many thanks for the ARC provided by Atria Books
March 10, 2018
This one was super intense; emotionally conflicting and one story I soon won't forget.
The story begins with Jonathan in jail and reflecting on his great love for his friends Nimreen and Laith. Brother and sister. Jonathan is completing his final year of highschool in Israel when he meets them. He develops a complicated relationship with them - he being Jewish; they being Arab.
There is no doubt a political angle to this book but it's interesting given the limited history I have of the strife that has taken place there and continues. The relationship and the moral struggle is what captivated the story and made it real and forbidden when he joins the army and experiences what it means to fight for your country; your people; but still hold in onto the memories of friends who will leave a mark on your heart.The emotional torture of knowing what's right but knowing it's not always a choice.
Lyrical in prose lending an almost romantic slant in a very harsh climate, culture.
4.25⭐️
The story begins with Jonathan in jail and reflecting on his great love for his friends Nimreen and Laith. Brother and sister. Jonathan is completing his final year of highschool in Israel when he meets them. He develops a complicated relationship with them - he being Jewish; they being Arab.
There is no doubt a political angle to this book but it's interesting given the limited history I have of the strife that has taken place there and continues. The relationship and the moral struggle is what captivated the story and made it real and forbidden when he joins the army and experiences what it means to fight for your country; your people; but still hold in onto the memories of friends who will leave a mark on your heart.The emotional torture of knowing what's right but knowing it's not always a choice.
Lyrical in prose lending an almost romantic slant in a very harsh climate, culture.
4.25⭐️
November 16, 2017
4 hearty stars!
Okay. So apparently I’m a person who holds a grudge. I realize a grudge makes me pretty huffy and grumpy, so I was sitting there annoyed as hell at the situation—mad at both the book and my snit. Grudges are uncool and they can ruin things.
I was dying to read this book, as my friends had chirped and chirped about it, flying around my To Be Read shelf, persuading me to grab this one next. “Oh goodie!” I chirped back. I’m on it.
And right away, the lyrical language, the intriguing hero, the first-person narration, the tone, the prison setting—all of this grabbed me, and I was all smiles and strut. Just look at that Joy Jar!
Ah but then the grudge was born . . .
Wait a minute, all of the sudden there were long Hebrew and Arabic conversations. Sure, everything was translated, but all of these secret sentences were a total distraction, plus they broke up the cool flow, the cool rhythm.
I like to look at words, folks. I like to swallow them and wallow in them. But it’s a no-brainer that I have to understand the words, otherwise they get caught in my throat, useless and prickly. And of course I didn’t understand the Hebrew and Arabic words. Why so many sentences in other languages? The fact that there were two languages made it harder, translations coming fast, back and forth, as conversations in two languages took place. Total confusion for me.
I knew I’d never remember one single word, so my reading enjoyment went right out the window. Tons of sentences full of letter combos that made no sense. As the foreign phrases multiplied like a virus, I found myself getting really pissed. It started to ruin the story for me. I realize that the author was going for authenticity, but the story was plenty authentic without it. And then my grudge started. Oh I was stubborn in my pissed-ness. I wanted to scream “Stop it! English, please!” I want words that I can understand, without the interruption of lines of translation.
So every time a foreign sentence appeared, I steamed. I lived for the English sentences, the flow that charmed me. I would look at upcoming pages and my mood would be affected by whether I could see foreign words or not. OMG, I realized that I was holding a grudge! I didn't want to forgive the author for what he had done to me. Nope, I refuse to be pulled into this wonderful story, so there!
But you know what? Miraculously, as I got more and more seduced by the story (which happened relatively fast), my grudge disappeared. Maybe the author cut back on the Hebrew and Arabic dialogue, or maybe I just didn’t even see it anymore. I was so relieved that I had ditched the grudge! I felt like I had become a grown-up, I had matured, had settled down like a good citizen, a good reader. Personal growth and all that, lol.
Oops. I better tell you what the book is about and delve deeper into that overstuffed Joy Jar, before I tell you about the other item on my Complaint Board (because yes, I’m sad to say there is yet another gripe, and it’s a two-parter!).
What’s this book about?
This is a modern coming-of-age story set in Israel. It’s about a young Jewish guy, Jonathan, who falls in love with Arab twins, a young woman and man. Jonathan ends up in a military prison, and it’s from his cell that he talks in his head to his Arab lovers, reviewing their intense relationship, reminiscing about the good old days, thinking about stories they had passed around, and explaining his struggles (understatement) and how he ended up in military prison.
Before I return to the dreaded Complaint Board, let me tell you that the Joy Jar is filled to the brim. Actually it’s overflowing.
Joy Jar
-Beauteous essentials. I know I’m repeating myself, but I need to make it clear that there is more joy than whine in my feelings about this book. The characters, the setting, the tone, the pace, the plot, the climax, the first-person voice—all just beauteous. This writer is a great storyteller.
-Ah, the language. What we have here are gorgeous sentences, lyrical and rich. This author definitely knows how to seduce you with words. (I’m sitting on my hands: I would love to let you see some of the sentences, but I can’t because I read an advance copy and I’m not supposed to quote.)
-Emotional creatures. It’s always magic when the characters are so well portrayed that their emotions, both what they feel inside and what they show outside, are explosive, and you totally buy it. This guy Jonathan, oh he is so verklempt, and with good reason. I loved this conflicted, morally complex character.
-Boing, rubber-band tension. In real life, tension is so bad, but in a book, it’s soooo good! Because there are two worlds here, that of the Jews and that of the Arabs, that are fighting over land, there is always underlying tension between this group of three lover-friends. It’s palpable, and though it made me unchy—their intense and sometimes strained conversations, their trips together through a war-torn land—it kept me completely hooked. Will they get through checkpoints? Is it really a good idea to hitchhike together? Will they be able to stay friends? Stuff like that. Oh, if that rubber band breaks. . . .
-Oh, that last third of the book. . . I love you! The last part of the book is electric; all boldface exclamation marks!!! There’s an event that is so powerful, so full of emotion and tension, it blew my mind. There’s also a juicy twist at the end.
Okay, I’m sad to have to go back to the Complaint Board, but I can’t just ignore it, can I? This naggy-saggy gripe sort of breaks down into two parts:
-Don’t teach me a thing or two. This was somewhat of a message book, which is a huge minus for me. I don’t like it when there seems to be an agenda to teach me a thing or two. I find it pedantic, condescending, and distracting (in that it moves away from plot). This happens both in conversations and in old war stories about relatives who have suffered. The stories did affect the main character’s outlook and actions, so in that way, they were useful and pertinent. For me, though, they seemed lecture-y. Luckily, the message-y part wasn’t loud, plus it served a purpose (affecting the main character), so it did not ruin the story for me.
-Politics? Political history? Let me hide! The book was too political for me. My eyes tend to glaze over when military history is the deal. Still, the story was so riveting I didn’t much care.
So yes, I’m a big whiner. This isn’t news. I have to say, though, that all of these complaints do not override the power of this novel, no way. The main character is morally complex, and I just love it when a book is about conscience. And it made me think about conflict and how it hurts, about loyalty and love, about the atrocities of war, about fear and fearlessness, about the innocence of youth.
It’s an amazing and brilliant book that is a 2017 favorite. I’m so very glad my friends chirped. A special thanks to Esil, whose chirp was in the form of a recommendation sent my way.
(By the way, I love the cover. And once you read the book, you’ll see that it has a lot of meaning.)
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
UPDATE, November 13, 2017 (a few days after original post): Note that this book does have a slant. I avoided mentioning it because I didn’t want to get into political discussions (and I still don’t) about a conflict that I know nothing about. Also, I doubted whether my perception of a slant was accurate. But a trusted friend confirmed that there IS a clear agenda here, so I decided to add this to my review. Meanwhile, as I was reading, I wasn’t buying all of what was being put forth as fact, or enjoying the angry parts, because I could see there was an agenda (it makes me super uncomfortable when someone tries to push their personal political beliefs). Instead, I concentrated on the emotional impact of the story. What I liked about the book was how morally complex and sympathetic the main character was, and how the book fares in terms of its worth as fiction, and that gets high scores. I just want to escape into a fictional world, folks, especially in these times. The political agenda was a turn-off.
Okay. So apparently I’m a person who holds a grudge. I realize a grudge makes me pretty huffy and grumpy, so I was sitting there annoyed as hell at the situation—mad at both the book and my snit. Grudges are uncool and they can ruin things.
I was dying to read this book, as my friends had chirped and chirped about it, flying around my To Be Read shelf, persuading me to grab this one next. “Oh goodie!” I chirped back. I’m on it.
And right away, the lyrical language, the intriguing hero, the first-person narration, the tone, the prison setting—all of this grabbed me, and I was all smiles and strut. Just look at that Joy Jar!
Ah but then the grudge was born . . .
Wait a minute, all of the sudden there were long Hebrew and Arabic conversations. Sure, everything was translated, but all of these secret sentences were a total distraction, plus they broke up the cool flow, the cool rhythm.
I like to look at words, folks. I like to swallow them and wallow in them. But it’s a no-brainer that I have to understand the words, otherwise they get caught in my throat, useless and prickly. And of course I didn’t understand the Hebrew and Arabic words. Why so many sentences in other languages? The fact that there were two languages made it harder, translations coming fast, back and forth, as conversations in two languages took place. Total confusion for me.
I knew I’d never remember one single word, so my reading enjoyment went right out the window. Tons of sentences full of letter combos that made no sense. As the foreign phrases multiplied like a virus, I found myself getting really pissed. It started to ruin the story for me. I realize that the author was going for authenticity, but the story was plenty authentic without it. And then my grudge started. Oh I was stubborn in my pissed-ness. I wanted to scream “Stop it! English, please!” I want words that I can understand, without the interruption of lines of translation.
So every time a foreign sentence appeared, I steamed. I lived for the English sentences, the flow that charmed me. I would look at upcoming pages and my mood would be affected by whether I could see foreign words or not. OMG, I realized that I was holding a grudge! I didn't want to forgive the author for what he had done to me. Nope, I refuse to be pulled into this wonderful story, so there!
But you know what? Miraculously, as I got more and more seduced by the story (which happened relatively fast), my grudge disappeared. Maybe the author cut back on the Hebrew and Arabic dialogue, or maybe I just didn’t even see it anymore. I was so relieved that I had ditched the grudge! I felt like I had become a grown-up, I had matured, had settled down like a good citizen, a good reader. Personal growth and all that, lol.
Oops. I better tell you what the book is about and delve deeper into that overstuffed Joy Jar, before I tell you about the other item on my Complaint Board (because yes, I’m sad to say there is yet another gripe, and it’s a two-parter!).
What’s this book about?
This is a modern coming-of-age story set in Israel. It’s about a young Jewish guy, Jonathan, who falls in love with Arab twins, a young woman and man. Jonathan ends up in a military prison, and it’s from his cell that he talks in his head to his Arab lovers, reviewing their intense relationship, reminiscing about the good old days, thinking about stories they had passed around, and explaining his struggles (understatement) and how he ended up in military prison.
Before I return to the dreaded Complaint Board, let me tell you that the Joy Jar is filled to the brim. Actually it’s overflowing.
Joy Jar
-Beauteous essentials. I know I’m repeating myself, but I need to make it clear that there is more joy than whine in my feelings about this book. The characters, the setting, the tone, the pace, the plot, the climax, the first-person voice—all just beauteous. This writer is a great storyteller.
-Ah, the language. What we have here are gorgeous sentences, lyrical and rich. This author definitely knows how to seduce you with words. (I’m sitting on my hands: I would love to let you see some of the sentences, but I can’t because I read an advance copy and I’m not supposed to quote.)
-Emotional creatures. It’s always magic when the characters are so well portrayed that their emotions, both what they feel inside and what they show outside, are explosive, and you totally buy it. This guy Jonathan, oh he is so verklempt, and with good reason. I loved this conflicted, morally complex character.
-Boing, rubber-band tension. In real life, tension is so bad, but in a book, it’s soooo good! Because there are two worlds here, that of the Jews and that of the Arabs, that are fighting over land, there is always underlying tension between this group of three lover-friends. It’s palpable, and though it made me unchy—their intense and sometimes strained conversations, their trips together through a war-torn land—it kept me completely hooked. Will they get through checkpoints? Is it really a good idea to hitchhike together? Will they be able to stay friends? Stuff like that. Oh, if that rubber band breaks. . . .
-Oh, that last third of the book. . . I love you! The last part of the book is electric; all boldface exclamation marks!!! There’s an event that is so powerful, so full of emotion and tension, it blew my mind. There’s also a juicy twist at the end.
Okay, I’m sad to have to go back to the Complaint Board, but I can’t just ignore it, can I? This naggy-saggy gripe sort of breaks down into two parts:
-Don’t teach me a thing or two. This was somewhat of a message book, which is a huge minus for me. I don’t like it when there seems to be an agenda to teach me a thing or two. I find it pedantic, condescending, and distracting (in that it moves away from plot). This happens both in conversations and in old war stories about relatives who have suffered. The stories did affect the main character’s outlook and actions, so in that way, they were useful and pertinent. For me, though, they seemed lecture-y. Luckily, the message-y part wasn’t loud, plus it served a purpose (affecting the main character), so it did not ruin the story for me.
-Politics? Political history? Let me hide! The book was too political for me. My eyes tend to glaze over when military history is the deal. Still, the story was so riveting I didn’t much care.
So yes, I’m a big whiner. This isn’t news. I have to say, though, that all of these complaints do not override the power of this novel, no way. The main character is morally complex, and I just love it when a book is about conscience. And it made me think about conflict and how it hurts, about loyalty and love, about the atrocities of war, about fear and fearlessness, about the innocence of youth.
It’s an amazing and brilliant book that is a 2017 favorite. I’m so very glad my friends chirped. A special thanks to Esil, whose chirp was in the form of a recommendation sent my way.
(By the way, I love the cover. And once you read the book, you’ll see that it has a lot of meaning.)
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
UPDATE, November 13, 2017 (a few days after original post): Note that this book does have a slant. I avoided mentioning it because I didn’t want to get into political discussions (and I still don’t) about a conflict that I know nothing about. Also, I doubted whether my perception of a slant was accurate. But a trusted friend confirmed that there IS a clear agenda here, so I decided to add this to my review. Meanwhile, as I was reading, I wasn’t buying all of what was being put forth as fact, or enjoying the angry parts, because I could see there was an agenda (it makes me super uncomfortable when someone tries to push their personal political beliefs). Instead, I concentrated on the emotional impact of the story. What I liked about the book was how morally complex and sympathetic the main character was, and how the book fares in terms of its worth as fiction, and that gets high scores. I just want to escape into a fictional world, folks, especially in these times. The political agenda was a turn-off.
March 30, 2018
4 lyrically dark stars to Sadness Is a White Bird! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Jonathan is 19 years old and preparing to serve in the Israeli army when he befriends Palestinian twins, Laith and Nimreen. As the story begins, Jonathan is in jail, and his story is told through letters to Laith. The second person narrative was refreshing.
Through Jonathan’s friendship with Laith and Nimreen, he begins a journey of self-discovery and coming-of-age where his emotions give rise to conflict within him about serving in the army.
This book was short and full of meaning. The message on conflict resonated with me because, generally speaking, sometimes we think we are on the right side of the conflict, but there’s always another side and many more voices to be heard. Some of the imagery at the end gave me chills.
Interestingly, in the audio, the passages in different languages were not included, so I did not experience that possible disconnection from the story that I’ve read about in reviews. The narrator added to the story. His voice was eerie and foreboding.
Sadness is a White Bird is a novel of friendship and full-bodied emotion. The author’s language is lyrical without being over-done. The emotions of the characters are transparent.
Thanks to many, many of my GR friends for the recommendation to read this thought-provoking book. This was a Traveling Sister Read, and for the combined Sister Review, please visit Brenda and Norma’s blog: https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
Jonathan is 19 years old and preparing to serve in the Israeli army when he befriends Palestinian twins, Laith and Nimreen. As the story begins, Jonathan is in jail, and his story is told through letters to Laith. The second person narrative was refreshing.
Through Jonathan’s friendship with Laith and Nimreen, he begins a journey of self-discovery and coming-of-age where his emotions give rise to conflict within him about serving in the army.
This book was short and full of meaning. The message on conflict resonated with me because, generally speaking, sometimes we think we are on the right side of the conflict, but there’s always another side and many more voices to be heard. Some of the imagery at the end gave me chills.
Interestingly, in the audio, the passages in different languages were not included, so I did not experience that possible disconnection from the story that I’ve read about in reviews. The narrator added to the story. His voice was eerie and foreboding.
Sadness is a White Bird is a novel of friendship and full-bodied emotion. The author’s language is lyrical without being over-done. The emotions of the characters are transparent.
Thanks to many, many of my GR friends for the recommendation to read this thought-provoking book. This was a Traveling Sister Read, and for the combined Sister Review, please visit Brenda and Norma’s blog: https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
November 4, 2017
A very enthusiastic 5 stars!!! This will definitely be one of my favourite novels this year. Sadness Is a White Bird is set in Israel and starts in an jail where 19 year old Jonathan is being detained. Jonathan tells his own story in the form of a lyrical narrative told to his friend Laith. Jonathan is Jewish and Laith is Palestinian. With this premise, this novel does everything a good novel is supposed to do:
-I loved how Rothman-Zecher tackles such a fraught political and historical context head on. Jonathan's own family history includes some brutal anti-Semitic losses in Greece and in the Holocaust, while Laith's family has also been brutalized by the Israeli army. With this background and in the face of Jonathan's impending military service, Jonathan, Laith and his twin sister Nimreen forge a complicated friendship.
-I loved how Rothman-Zecher evokes what felt like real powerful emotions. Jonathan is young and his emotions have the rawness that comes with youth, but there is no gratuitous melodrama.
-I loved the interactions between Jonathan and other characters, especially with Laith and his twin Nimreen -- lots of smart original dialogue, including the extremes of humour and harshness.
-I loved the writing. There is no fluff here, but Rothman-Zecher manages to be both direct and very creative in his use of language, time lines and points of view.
-And I loved where I felt Rothman-Zecher was trying to take me politically and emotionally. I just finished reading Hillary Clinton's new memoir, What Happened. She ends by calling for "deep empathy" -- for people to work hard to understand and connect with people who are different from themselves and have different beliefs. It's not dissimilar from the message I got recently reading Van Jones' Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together and Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. Coming from a bicultural home in Canada, it's a message that really resonates with me. Sadness Is a White Bird read like a beautiful, powerful and painful call for deep empathy.
Rothman-Zecher is ridiculously talented. I can't wait to see what he writes next.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy. Thanks also to Angela and Diane for another excellent buddy read!
-I loved how Rothman-Zecher tackles such a fraught political and historical context head on. Jonathan's own family history includes some brutal anti-Semitic losses in Greece and in the Holocaust, while Laith's family has also been brutalized by the Israeli army. With this background and in the face of Jonathan's impending military service, Jonathan, Laith and his twin sister Nimreen forge a complicated friendship.
-I loved how Rothman-Zecher evokes what felt like real powerful emotions. Jonathan is young and his emotions have the rawness that comes with youth, but there is no gratuitous melodrama.
-I loved the interactions between Jonathan and other characters, especially with Laith and his twin Nimreen -- lots of smart original dialogue, including the extremes of humour and harshness.
-I loved the writing. There is no fluff here, but Rothman-Zecher manages to be both direct and very creative in his use of language, time lines and points of view.
-And I loved where I felt Rothman-Zecher was trying to take me politically and emotionally. I just finished reading Hillary Clinton's new memoir, What Happened. She ends by calling for "deep empathy" -- for people to work hard to understand and connect with people who are different from themselves and have different beliefs. It's not dissimilar from the message I got recently reading Van Jones' Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together and Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. Coming from a bicultural home in Canada, it's a message that really resonates with me. Sadness Is a White Bird read like a beautiful, powerful and painful call for deep empathy.
Rothman-Zecher is ridiculously talented. I can't wait to see what he writes next.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy. Thanks also to Angela and Diane for another excellent buddy read!
April 7, 2018
A solid satisfying, richly empathetic, deeply unsettling but gorgeous nonetheless 3.5 stars.
We all have some vague distant knowledge about the 'middle east' problem but in this book, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict comes to life in with its devastating tale of friendship and tragedy.
We have our protagonist and narrator, Jonathan, who has returned to Israel from America in his late teens. He looks forward to joining the Israel Defense Force, in part to honor his freedom, fighter grandfather. His life undergoes a radical change after he meets and becomes intimate with Laith and Nimreen, dynamic Arab-Israeli brother-and-sister twins with whom he shares his deepest thoughts.
The three are inseparable. The three inevitably argue passionately about politics and identity; their raw and testy exchanges about painful realities and misperceptions of the “other” constitute some of the novel’s most gripping moments
Their closeness offers a hint of hope for the remaking of Jewish-Arab relations.
But can you love and admire people so deeply that the barriers between you are conquered? Will the real world even allow it?
Rothman-Zecher is hardly the first writer to recognize that “otherness” is the most seductive spice in all the Middle East, nor is he the first to explore a “Romeo and Juliet” narrative between Jews and Arabs.
But Sadness Is A White Bird may be the most artful and irresistible exploration of “illicit” love in the Holy Land.
It has its flaws like it sort of failed to maintain the emotional intensity in the end but it offers all that one could wish for in a coming of age tale explored through the intimate bonds between young Jewish and Muslim Israelis.
We all have some vague distant knowledge about the 'middle east' problem but in this book, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict comes to life in with its devastating tale of friendship and tragedy.
We have our protagonist and narrator, Jonathan, who has returned to Israel from America in his late teens. He looks forward to joining the Israel Defense Force, in part to honor his freedom, fighter grandfather. His life undergoes a radical change after he meets and becomes intimate with Laith and Nimreen, dynamic Arab-Israeli brother-and-sister twins with whom he shares his deepest thoughts.
The three are inseparable. The three inevitably argue passionately about politics and identity; their raw and testy exchanges about painful realities and misperceptions of the “other” constitute some of the novel’s most gripping moments
Their closeness offers a hint of hope for the remaking of Jewish-Arab relations.
But can you love and admire people so deeply that the barriers between you are conquered? Will the real world even allow it?
Rothman-Zecher is hardly the first writer to recognize that “otherness” is the most seductive spice in all the Middle East, nor is he the first to explore a “Romeo and Juliet” narrative between Jews and Arabs.
But Sadness Is A White Bird may be the most artful and irresistible exploration of “illicit” love in the Holy Land.
It has its flaws like it sort of failed to maintain the emotional intensity in the end but it offers all that one could wish for in a coming of age tale explored through the intimate bonds between young Jewish and Muslim Israelis.
March 16, 2018
The story of a friendship between a young Jewish man named Jonathan and Arab twins Laith and Nimreen, are tested by the conflict that will never end between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East.
Jonathan, who will be going into the armed service for Israel, and later when he is actually in service, struggles with what his duties will be and what he himself thinks is morally correct.
Sad, intense, passionate and poetic.
Jonathan, who will be going into the armed service for Israel, and later when he is actually in service, struggles with what his duties will be and what he himself thinks is morally correct.
Sad, intense, passionate and poetic.
April 15, 2018
3.5 Stars* (rounded down)
Jonathan is 19 years old, when, at the start of the novel, he is incarcerated in an military prison, for what we do not know. Writing letters to someone named Laith, pouring his heart out. And so it begins.
Jonathan returns to Israel with his family after having lived abroad, specifically so that he can serve his Country. Unexpected he makes fast friends with two Palestinian twins: Nimreen and Laith - and the three become inseparable. This friendship, it conflicts with his belief system and his need to serve. Yet it is the most natural thing in the world as he, Laith and Nimreen are one in the same. Yet nothing is ever that simple. At least not in times of war.
At times, lovely, poignant and sad, though somewhat slow moving, “Sadness is a White Bird” is a beautiful coming of age story about the fragility of friendship and family. It is told with compassion and love.
Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Moriel Rothman-Zecher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on Goodreads and NetGalley on 4.15.18.
Jonathan is 19 years old, when, at the start of the novel, he is incarcerated in an military prison, for what we do not know. Writing letters to someone named Laith, pouring his heart out. And so it begins.
Jonathan returns to Israel with his family after having lived abroad, specifically so that he can serve his Country. Unexpected he makes fast friends with two Palestinian twins: Nimreen and Laith - and the three become inseparable. This friendship, it conflicts with his belief system and his need to serve. Yet it is the most natural thing in the world as he, Laith and Nimreen are one in the same. Yet nothing is ever that simple. At least not in times of war.
At times, lovely, poignant and sad, though somewhat slow moving, “Sadness is a White Bird” is a beautiful coming of age story about the fragility of friendship and family. It is told with compassion and love.
Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Moriel Rothman-Zecher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on Goodreads and NetGalley on 4.15.18.
March 27, 2018
A political agenda wrapped in affecting imagery and a lyrical narrative.
I wish that I had loved this as much as so many of my friends here, but my reading was hindered by a niggling feeling that I could not shake. More on that in a minute. I was initially frustrated at the inclusion of Arabic and Hebrew phrases I could not understand, words that pulled me out of the storyline like speed bumps, but eventually I became accustomed and I was invested in this fervent, coming of age story set amidst the complex situation between Israelis and Palestinians.
I appreciated the author’s use of the second person narrative, a young man writing from jail to one of his best friends lends the story an air of intrigue and made it all the richer for me. The language was poetic, the story unfolding bit by tender bit was gripping. And I feel as if the author wanted to deliver a balanced story, the protagonist’s knowledge of both languages, his sexual fluidity, his experiences in the West Bank juxtaposed against the horrors his family endured during the war. I took all of these as signs that the author wanted us to see him as balanced, open minded and non-confrontational.
And yet, there was that niggling feeling that what I was reading was a political statement. I know what you’re thinking, writers will have a perspective, they tell the story as they see it, but this was more than that. It didn’t feel quite pro-Palestine, but had an air of anti-Israel. And then I found this article in the NYT entitled Why I Won’t Serve Israel written by the author and that niggling feeling took solid form and cast a pall over my experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/12/op...
Glowing stars for the language and storytelling, stars deducted for the agenda. For this reader, his political inclination overpowered the beautifully written narrative and a wolf in sheep’s clothing is still a canine wearing wool.
I wish that I had loved this as much as so many of my friends here, but my reading was hindered by a niggling feeling that I could not shake. More on that in a minute. I was initially frustrated at the inclusion of Arabic and Hebrew phrases I could not understand, words that pulled me out of the storyline like speed bumps, but eventually I became accustomed and I was invested in this fervent, coming of age story set amidst the complex situation between Israelis and Palestinians.
I appreciated the author’s use of the second person narrative, a young man writing from jail to one of his best friends lends the story an air of intrigue and made it all the richer for me. The language was poetic, the story unfolding bit by tender bit was gripping. And I feel as if the author wanted to deliver a balanced story, the protagonist’s knowledge of both languages, his sexual fluidity, his experiences in the West Bank juxtaposed against the horrors his family endured during the war. I took all of these as signs that the author wanted us to see him as balanced, open minded and non-confrontational.
And yet, there was that niggling feeling that what I was reading was a political statement. I know what you’re thinking, writers will have a perspective, they tell the story as they see it, but this was more than that. It didn’t feel quite pro-Palestine, but had an air of anti-Israel. And then I found this article in the NYT entitled Why I Won’t Serve Israel written by the author and that niggling feeling took solid form and cast a pall over my experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/12/op...
Glowing stars for the language and storytelling, stars deducted for the agenda. For this reader, his political inclination overpowered the beautifully written narrative and a wolf in sheep’s clothing is still a canine wearing wool.
January 11, 2018
I have so many feelings swimming through me after finishing this novel. It is a heavy subject that will garner strong feelings. I thought Johnathan’s narrative worked perfectly in allowing the reader to feel firsthand the experience of this conflict on those living through it. The dialogue was very distracting in the beginning with the constant translating but evened out as it went along.
I do understand that as impartial as an author strives to be it’s still a difficult task. The bias are difficult to ignore, so it is important to remember that there are two sides to every conflict. Still, is it hopeless to think that peace will ever exist in this region? Conflicts throughout the world are committed in the name of religion, but is that really what it’s about? Or is it simply about power? This is not a political issue... it’s a human issue. Oppression is oppression regardless of religion or race and it is wrong. Seems that we have learned nothing from history.
*Added note- I’ve noticed a trend to squeeze in random same sex encounters. I appreciate sexuality of all kinds where it’s relevant, but graphic details are not needed in most cases and end up taking away from the story.
I do understand that as impartial as an author strives to be it’s still a difficult task. The bias are difficult to ignore, so it is important to remember that there are two sides to every conflict. Still, is it hopeless to think that peace will ever exist in this region? Conflicts throughout the world are committed in the name of religion, but is that really what it’s about? Or is it simply about power? This is not a political issue... it’s a human issue. Oppression is oppression regardless of religion or race and it is wrong. Seems that we have learned nothing from history.
*Added note- I’ve noticed a trend to squeeze in random same sex encounters. I appreciate sexuality of all kinds where it’s relevant, but graphic details are not needed in most cases and end up taking away from the story.
September 25, 2019
Moriel Rothman-Zecher is also a poet as well as a novelist, and that comes through loud and clear in ‘Sadness Is A White Bird.’ His prose flows liquid and mellifluous, enveloping me in Jonathan’s world. Jonathan lived with his parents in the US for several years but always wanted to return ‘home,’ and become a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) at age eighteen. When his maternal grandfather, a Salonican Jew, becomes sick, Jonathan’s family returns to Israel. Unexpectedly, he meets Palestinian twins, Nimreen and Laith, and his world begins to change. Not necessarily his world view (not at first), but as his friendship with the twins grows deeply, he begins to open himself up to a different narrative.
The three main characters are drawn with such skill and finesse, they leap from the page. The twins are going to university at Haifa; Nimreen studying politics and Laith, biology. Both quote the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, the most famous of Palestine’s poets, considered a ‘resistance poet.’ ‘Identity Card’ by this poet is one of Nimreen's favorites. It is a free verse poem of what a Palestinian might say to the Israeli who questions him. The last lines of the poem are:
“Write at the top of page one:
I do not hate people,
I do not assault anyone,
But…if I get hungry,
I eat the flesh of my usurper.
Beware…beware…of my hunger,
And of my anger.” (1)
Darwish was placed under house arrest when this poem became a protest song. (2)
Nimreen has an eyebrow piercing and she is elegant in a defiant way. Laith has a scraggly beard, and he is laid back, lanky with a soft, rich voice. Jonathan is seventeen when he meets them, a little younger than the twins, and he says, the fact that he’s going to join the IDF is like a fourth presence that is always with them when they are together. The way that Jonathan sees Nimreen and her brother, Laith is often through the lens of his own desires. The narrative is written in first person POV from the perspective of Jonathan but as if he is talking to Laith. This captures my attention by bringing immediacy and warmth to the novel as Jonathan’s feelings for Nimreen and Laith are revealed, a full flowering effect.
Jonathan’s Grandfather reminds him to be proud of his soon to be status of a soldier; he reminds him of the atrocities committed against the Jews, of the fact that almost the entire community of Jews of Salonica, Greece where he is from, were wiped out as they were deported by the Germans in World War Two to concentration and labor camps, where most died. Nimreen and Laith’s grandmother tells Jonathan of the massacre of 49 people by the Israeli Army, which included her husband, a shepherd returning home with his flock unaware of the new curfew, which had just been instated that day. Both these old people, from opposite sides of the fence, so to speak, say, "Remember. Don't forget."
Of course, there’s an ill wind circling these characters, trying to draw them back into predetermined paths. This book is exquisite. It made me hold my head with both hands, moaning, “oh, no. Oh, no.” It cut right into my heart. It attains even more poignancy, in my opinion, because the author at age 23, went to prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. He was in prison for a short period of time, October to November 2012, but he began to think of what might have happened if he had made a different choice, and from that, came this novel. (3) Highly recommended!
https://www.wrmea.org/017-november-de...
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet...
http://middleburymagazine.com/feature...
5 stars also for narration by Neil Shah.
The three main characters are drawn with such skill and finesse, they leap from the page. The twins are going to university at Haifa; Nimreen studying politics and Laith, biology. Both quote the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, the most famous of Palestine’s poets, considered a ‘resistance poet.’ ‘Identity Card’ by this poet is one of Nimreen's favorites. It is a free verse poem of what a Palestinian might say to the Israeli who questions him. The last lines of the poem are:
“Write at the top of page one:
I do not hate people,
I do not assault anyone,
But…if I get hungry,
I eat the flesh of my usurper.
Beware…beware…of my hunger,
And of my anger.” (1)
Darwish was placed under house arrest when this poem became a protest song. (2)
Nimreen has an eyebrow piercing and she is elegant in a defiant way. Laith has a scraggly beard, and he is laid back, lanky with a soft, rich voice. Jonathan is seventeen when he meets them, a little younger than the twins, and he says, the fact that he’s going to join the IDF is like a fourth presence that is always with them when they are together. The way that Jonathan sees Nimreen and her brother, Laith is often through the lens of his own desires. The narrative is written in first person POV from the perspective of Jonathan but as if he is talking to Laith. This captures my attention by bringing immediacy and warmth to the novel as Jonathan’s feelings for Nimreen and Laith are revealed, a full flowering effect.
Jonathan’s Grandfather reminds him to be proud of his soon to be status of a soldier; he reminds him of the atrocities committed against the Jews, of the fact that almost the entire community of Jews of Salonica, Greece where he is from, were wiped out as they were deported by the Germans in World War Two to concentration and labor camps, where most died. Nimreen and Laith’s grandmother tells Jonathan of the massacre of 49 people by the Israeli Army, which included her husband, a shepherd returning home with his flock unaware of the new curfew, which had just been instated that day. Both these old people, from opposite sides of the fence, so to speak, say, "Remember. Don't forget."
Of course, there’s an ill wind circling these characters, trying to draw them back into predetermined paths. This book is exquisite. It made me hold my head with both hands, moaning, “oh, no. Oh, no.” It cut right into my heart. It attains even more poignancy, in my opinion, because the author at age 23, went to prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. He was in prison for a short period of time, October to November 2012, but he began to think of what might have happened if he had made a different choice, and from that, came this novel. (3) Highly recommended!
https://www.wrmea.org/017-november-de...
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet...
http://middleburymagazine.com/feature...
5 stars also for narration by Neil Shah.
September 7, 2019
4.5 stars. Available on Hoopla.
Wars are everywhere in the history books, but we are lucky these days that it seldom touches us on our own soil, as it still does in Israel. My first generation American-born grandfather had first and second cousins his age in Germany, yet he often recounted to 9 year old me how he was sent there in 1917 to "shoot at" his "own relatives." For him to tell me those stories repeatedly, it must have weighed heavily on his mind; and I have never forgotten how confused it made me feel.
In this book, Jonathan, raised in America, moved back to his birthplace, Israel, with his parents, and spent years hanging out with his best friends, Palestinian twins Laith and his sister Nimreen. Come age 18, Jonathan was required to join the Israeli army and possibly "shoot at" Palestinians (the quotes are mine). This caused him great consternation and he actually thought that when the time came he could just choose not to shoot. My grandfather, I think, felt the war was just and that he needed to be there to help however he could. Jonathan, on the other hand, believed otherwise, especially as he grew closer to each twin.
The story is narrated from a jail cell, Jonathan speaking in a letter or journal to the male twin Laith, remembering the times they were together as a threesome and apart; his personal experiences after joining the army, and how he has landed in jail. It is very moving and Jonathan is such a sympathetic character; the writing eloquent and thought provoking.
In the first part of the book it was difficult for me to get a handle on what was happening, but then with the back story filled in some, I was into it. The ending can be interpreted a couple of ways, but that's what makes it thought provoking. I did need to listen to these parts two or three times.
Wars are everywhere in the history books, but we are lucky these days that it seldom touches us on our own soil, as it still does in Israel. My first generation American-born grandfather had first and second cousins his age in Germany, yet he often recounted to 9 year old me how he was sent there in 1917 to "shoot at" his "own relatives." For him to tell me those stories repeatedly, it must have weighed heavily on his mind; and I have never forgotten how confused it made me feel.
In this book, Jonathan, raised in America, moved back to his birthplace, Israel, with his parents, and spent years hanging out with his best friends, Palestinian twins Laith and his sister Nimreen. Come age 18, Jonathan was required to join the Israeli army and possibly "shoot at" Palestinians (the quotes are mine). This caused him great consternation and he actually thought that when the time came he could just choose not to shoot. My grandfather, I think, felt the war was just and that he needed to be there to help however he could. Jonathan, on the other hand, believed otherwise, especially as he grew closer to each twin.
The story is narrated from a jail cell, Jonathan speaking in a letter or journal to the male twin Laith, remembering the times they were together as a threesome and apart; his personal experiences after joining the army, and how he has landed in jail. It is very moving and Jonathan is such a sympathetic character; the writing eloquent and thought provoking.
In the first part of the book it was difficult for me to get a handle on what was happening, but then with the back story filled in some, I was into it. The ending can be interpreted a couple of ways, but that's what makes it thought provoking. I did need to listen to these parts two or three times.
May 1, 2019
Lyrical debut novel about an Israeli teenager, Yonatan, who befriends Palestinian twins Laith and Nimreen just prior to his entering the draft to defend the occupied Palestinian territories. The trio share a brief but intense friendship that is complicated by the bitter divide between Arabs and Jews in Palestine.
The author has a decided viewpoint here, but that's his prerogative and it didn't detract (for me) from the story or the sheer strength and beauty of his writing. I loved all of the characters, especially gentle and sensitive Laith. I appreciated the humanity Rothman-Zecher brought to a conflict as old as time that will probably never, ever be resolved.
Highly recommend to readers who enjoy books about different cultures and those who appreciate stellar writing.
Thanks for NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC of this novel. My review, however, is based on the hardcover version.
The author has a decided viewpoint here, but that's his prerogative and it didn't detract (for me) from the story or the sheer strength and beauty of his writing. I loved all of the characters, especially gentle and sensitive Laith. I appreciated the humanity Rothman-Zecher brought to a conflict as old as time that will probably never, ever be resolved.
Highly recommend to readers who enjoy books about different cultures and those who appreciate stellar writing.
Thanks for NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC of this novel. My review, however, is based on the hardcover version.
February 22, 2018
Jonathan, at 19, is the narrator of this novel, told in letters written to his friend Laith from military prison in Israel.
This novel is about the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine, but on a much more personal level. It is about family and family history, and how that molds our path. It is about friendship and the barriers that arise, how far intimacy can go when it confronts your identity. I found it overall to be just a bit too long, but enjoyed the read.
Jonathan moved with his family to Israel, where he is getting ready to join the military. In his younger years he befriends Palestinian twins, after his mother meets their mother at a protest.
Jonathan is Jewish, and is finding his identity inside Israel where he is the majority, an experience he hadn't had in the United States. His new friendships are tenuous, and he instinctively hides his friendship with Laith and Nimreem from his Israeli-Jewish friends. (Laith and Nimreem, coincidentally, also consider themselves to be Israeli but have to endure far more curfews and checkpoints than Jonathan does.)
At one point he goes to Greece to explore his family's roots, and he uncovers still-present racism, hatred, and learns more about the deaths of his family members, and the destruction of their lives there. This is a part of who he is and why he wants to be in the military, but there is a bit of idealism in his sense of duty, of military service. Nimreem knows this and confronts him in various ways, from yelling to poetry (the work of Mahmoud Darwish is important in this novel, and the title comes from one of his poems), but it takes him more time and experience to understand what she is trying to say.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to this title through NetGalley.
This novel is about the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine, but on a much more personal level. It is about family and family history, and how that molds our path. It is about friendship and the barriers that arise, how far intimacy can go when it confronts your identity. I found it overall to be just a bit too long, but enjoyed the read.
Jonathan moved with his family to Israel, where he is getting ready to join the military. In his younger years he befriends Palestinian twins, after his mother meets their mother at a protest.
Jonathan is Jewish, and is finding his identity inside Israel where he is the majority, an experience he hadn't had in the United States. His new friendships are tenuous, and he instinctively hides his friendship with Laith and Nimreem from his Israeli-Jewish friends. (Laith and Nimreem, coincidentally, also consider themselves to be Israeli but have to endure far more curfews and checkpoints than Jonathan does.)
At one point he goes to Greece to explore his family's roots, and he uncovers still-present racism, hatred, and learns more about the deaths of his family members, and the destruction of their lives there. This is a part of who he is and why he wants to be in the military, but there is a bit of idealism in his sense of duty, of military service. Nimreem knows this and confronts him in various ways, from yelling to poetry (the work of Mahmoud Darwish is important in this novel, and the title comes from one of his poems), but it takes him more time and experience to understand what she is trying to say.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to this title through NetGalley.
February 16, 2018
A powerful and exceptional story told from 19-year old Jonathan’s perspective, a young man preparing to serve in the Israeli army, yet sitting in a jail cell with plenty of time for contemplation and reflection. His letters and journaling are expertly written by Author Rothman-Zecher. Heartbreaking and stunning are the first words that come to mind. They capture the spirit, thoughts and feelings of this young man from 2 years past to present, the Palestinian-Israali conflict and the effect it has on his relationship with Palestinian twins Laith and Nimreen. This book is a treasure, clearly has a message about political conflict and packs a punch.
May 6, 2020
This is a sad book, depicting the lives of several young people caught between political/social expectations and influence, and the relationships they form before those expectations take over their lives. There's a Brene Brown quote (which I can't find currently in order to do justice to it) which talks about "moving in" closer to those we fear, distrust, or don't understand as a way to see them as more like ourselves, to improve the connection, acceptance, and understanding between us. I was reminded of it while reading this book.
Friends on opposite sides of cultural politics, and the very real dangers associated with those divisions, find challenges in understanding each other's positions and experiences. Sadly, it is a theme playing out all over our world. The book moves back and forth from the past to the present, but was easily followed, creating a dual narrative to show where the friendships had been and how those friendships had affected the narrator's current choices.
In this case, the primary characters had "moved in" early in their relationships. Unfortunately, the expectations placed by their cultures drove wedges and drove them down different paths, testing their resolve and forcing them to make difficult choices. The military training portrayed reminded me of stories from an uncle, who served in the navy--training that attempts to exorcise all individuality, replacing it with an order-following clone. The novel raises questions about what we expect from, and do to, our young people in the name of service to country.
Friends on opposite sides of cultural politics, and the very real dangers associated with those divisions, find challenges in understanding each other's positions and experiences. Sadly, it is a theme playing out all over our world. The book moves back and forth from the past to the present, but was easily followed, creating a dual narrative to show where the friendships had been and how those friendships had affected the narrator's current choices.
In this case, the primary characters had "moved in" early in their relationships. Unfortunately, the expectations placed by their cultures drove wedges and drove them down different paths, testing their resolve and forcing them to make difficult choices. The military training portrayed reminded me of stories from an uncle, who served in the navy--training that attempts to exorcise all individuality, replacing it with an order-following clone. The novel raises questions about what we expect from, and do to, our young people in the name of service to country.
April 16, 2018
Jonathan has just turned nineteen but as he sits in an Israeli military prison, he reminices as to how he got there. He speaks to his friend Laith through letters and flashbacks. Jonathan grew up in the United States but moved back to Israel to finish high school and then become part of the IDF (the Israeli Defence Forces). In the interim between highschool and the army, Jonathan meets Laith and his twin sister Nimreem, of Palestian origin. The three of them become close friends, spending almost every friday night together. But as Jonathan's draft date comes closer, their easy and relaxed evenings together grow more tense. Can they sustain the friendship despite their different beliefs?
For a fairly short book, this work sure packs a punch. Jonathan moved back to Israel with his family to be closer to his grandpa but with the eventual especific purpose of joining the IDF. In preparation, Jonathan learned Arabic and trained. Before he finishes highschool, he meets and befriends Laith and Nimreem, twins whom he meet through his mother while visiting one of her friends. The three of them hit it off, spending friday nights with each other on the beach, at their houses and sharing intimate details and secrets amongst each other. But with Laith and Nimreem being Palestian there is always an underlyng conflict. Jonathan is going to fight for Israel but he feels honored to be friends with the twins. Now Jonathan (who also goes by Yonatan) is waging his own internal war. Can he still feel pride for his heritage, be loyal to his country AND still be friends with Laith & Nimreem (his enemy?) ? Theirs is a complicated relationship, to say the least. This book is raw, honest, powerful and packs a hefty emotional load. The tensions were tangible as Jonathan struggles to find an answer as matters are not black & white. Its a vast gray area that he has no idea how to navigate.
With a book dealing with the Israeli-Palestian conflict, its hard that its not, at least, somewhat political. So with that in mind, I looked up the author. Moriel Rothman-Zecher partially based the character of Jonathan on himself. Rothman-Zecher grew up in the States and returned to Israel later as an adult, learned Arabic and was also to join the army as its compulsory in Israel. But unlike Jonathan, he could not go through with it and refused. Instead he spend a month in jail and eventualy received a Profile 21 exempt. This is the story of what could have been. Originally meant to a non-fiction work, Rothman-Zecher turned to fiction to increase the impact. It worked. In January 12, 2015 Rothman-Zecher wrote an op-ed in the New York Times titled "Why I Won't Serve Israel". Clearly this author has a bias but having read a few interviews of him, he came to this point through personal experience. A coin has two sides after all. One argument does not make the other invalid. There are people that have spent years trying to decipeher the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and I won't pretend to understand all the intricacies after reading this book. But what I do believe, however, is that there needs to be more dialogue and less violence.
For a fairly short book, this work sure packs a punch. Jonathan moved back to Israel with his family to be closer to his grandpa but with the eventual especific purpose of joining the IDF. In preparation, Jonathan learned Arabic and trained. Before he finishes highschool, he meets and befriends Laith and Nimreem, twins whom he meet through his mother while visiting one of her friends. The three of them hit it off, spending friday nights with each other on the beach, at their houses and sharing intimate details and secrets amongst each other. But with Laith and Nimreem being Palestian there is always an underlyng conflict. Jonathan is going to fight for Israel but he feels honored to be friends with the twins. Now Jonathan (who also goes by Yonatan) is waging his own internal war. Can he still feel pride for his heritage, be loyal to his country AND still be friends with Laith & Nimreem (his enemy?) ? Theirs is a complicated relationship, to say the least. This book is raw, honest, powerful and packs a hefty emotional load. The tensions were tangible as Jonathan struggles to find an answer as matters are not black & white. Its a vast gray area that he has no idea how to navigate.
With a book dealing with the Israeli-Palestian conflict, its hard that its not, at least, somewhat political. So with that in mind, I looked up the author. Moriel Rothman-Zecher partially based the character of Jonathan on himself. Rothman-Zecher grew up in the States and returned to Israel later as an adult, learned Arabic and was also to join the army as its compulsory in Israel. But unlike Jonathan, he could not go through with it and refused. Instead he spend a month in jail and eventualy received a Profile 21 exempt. This is the story of what could have been. Originally meant to a non-fiction work, Rothman-Zecher turned to fiction to increase the impact. It worked. In January 12, 2015 Rothman-Zecher wrote an op-ed in the New York Times titled "Why I Won't Serve Israel". Clearly this author has a bias but having read a few interviews of him, he came to this point through personal experience. A coin has two sides after all. One argument does not make the other invalid. There are people that have spent years trying to decipeher the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and I won't pretend to understand all the intricacies after reading this book. But what I do believe, however, is that there needs to be more dialogue and less violence.
November 23, 2017
Sadness is a White Bird is a beautiful and sad story of Jonathan, who is in a military jail in Israel. Much of the book is addressed to Laith and serves as a letter of love/apology to Laith and his twin sister, Nimreen. Prior to joining the Israeli army, Jonathan befriends Laith and Nimreen, who are Palestinians; his new friends lead to a great conflict for Jonathan, who has always identified prominently as a Jewish man and Israeli.
He finds himself torn between a) his love for his family, his family's expectation that he join the army to defend Israel, and his identification as an Israeli and b) his love for his Palestinian friends who show him the impact of Israeli occupation through their shared times together and when Nimreen introduces Jonathan to her grandmother. In particular, Jonathan's conflict is underlined by the traumatic stories of displacement and death experienced by his grandfather, Yehuda, and Laith and Nimreen's grandmother, Selsabeel. These stories were heartbreaking.
Additionally, woven throughout the book are snippets of poetry that Nimreen and Laith share with Jonathan. I was so pleased to be introduced to these poems, including Identity Card and A Soldier Dreams of White Lilies, both written by Mahmoud Darwish.
I was hovering between 4 and 5 stars and I've finally settled on 5 stars for Sadness is a White Bird. At this point, it seems that the majority of readers were swept away by this story. I too loved it, although I don't think that I reached the same transcendent levels as others.
He finds himself torn between a) his love for his family, his family's expectation that he join the army to defend Israel, and his identification as an Israeli and b) his love for his Palestinian friends who show him the impact of Israeli occupation through their shared times together and when Nimreen introduces Jonathan to her grandmother. In particular, Jonathan's conflict is underlined by the traumatic stories of displacement and death experienced by his grandfather, Yehuda, and Laith and Nimreen's grandmother, Selsabeel. These stories were heartbreaking.
Additionally, woven throughout the book are snippets of poetry that Nimreen and Laith share with Jonathan. I was so pleased to be introduced to these poems, including Identity Card and A Soldier Dreams of White Lilies, both written by Mahmoud Darwish.
I was hovering between 4 and 5 stars and I've finally settled on 5 stars for Sadness is a White Bird. At this point, it seems that the majority of readers were swept away by this story. I too loved it, although I don't think that I reached the same transcendent levels as others.
March 23, 2018
This was a really gorgeous book with great narration. A young man leaves America to return to Israel for his military service. Before enlisting, he meets Palestinian brother/sister twins and develops a deep friendship with them both. As he learns their family history, he starts to feel conflicted about his upcoming military service. The narrative starts with him in a military jail, then flashes back to the time leading up to his arrest.
The issues are complex. His desire to help his family and the state of Israel war with his compassion for the Palestinians. There are no easy answers here, but it is a compassionate look at both sides.
The issues are complex. His desire to help his family and the state of Israel war with his compassion for the Palestinians. There are no easy answers here, but it is a compassionate look at both sides.
November 2, 2017
An incredible piece of literature that I recommend everyone read, immediately!! The words on every page pulled at my heartstrings and I hated to say goodbye to these characters upon finishing. One of my top 2017 reads for sure. Highly recommend!! ALL THE STARS!
December 11, 2018
Edit: After just reading another book about war right after (different country/time period), I am upping the rating to 4.5* as I can’t stop thinking about it.
I’m torn between 4 and 4.5*. Some areas of this book were astoundingly beautifully written and heartbreaking. Definitely a debut author to watch.
This is a politically and morally driven look at both sides of the Arab-Israeli issue via a coming of age story. I’m guessing some may be drawn from the authors own experiences as he also refused to serve in the Israeli military.
The poet Mahmoud Darwish is mentioned throughout the book and from whose poem the title comes from:
A Soldier Dreams Of White Lilies
By Mahmoud Darwish (1967)
(From Unfortunately, It Was Paradise (2003). Translated and edited by Munir Akash and Carolyn Forché))
He dreams of white lilies, an olive branch, her breasts in evening blossom. He dreams of a bird, he tells me, of lemon flowers.
He does not intellectualize about his dream. He understands things as he senses and smells them.
Homeland for him, he tells me, is to drink my mother’s coffee, to return at nightfall.
And the land? I don’t know the land, he said.
I don’t feel it in my flesh and blood, as they say in the poems.
Suddenly I saw the land as one sees a grocery store, a street, newspapers.
I asked him, but don’t you love the land? My love is a picnic, he said, a glass of wine, a love affair.
- Would you die for the land?
- No!
All my attachment to the land is no more than a story or a fiery speech! They taught me to love it, but I never felt it in my heart.
I never knew its roots and branches, or the scent of its grass.
- And what about its love? Did it burn like suns and desire?
He looked straight at me and said: I love it with my gun. And by unearthing feasts in the garbage of the past
and a deaf-mute idol whose age and meaning are unknown.
He told me about the moment of departure, how his mother silently wept when they led him to the front,
how her anguished voice gave birth to a new hope in his flesh that doves might flock through the Ministry of War.
He drew on his cigarette. He said, as if fleeing from a swamp of blood,
I dreamt of white lilies, an olive branch, a bird embracing the dawn in a lemon tree.
- And what did you see?
- I saw what I did:
a blood-red boxthorn.
I blasted them in the sand...in their chests...in their bellies. - How many did you kill?
- It’s impossible to tell. I only got one medal.
Pained, I asked him to tell me about one of the dead.
He shifted in his seat, fiddled with the folded newspaper,
then said, as if breaking into song:
He collapsed like a tent on stones, embracing shattered planets.
His high forehead was crowned with blood. His chest was empty of medals. He was not a well-trained fighter, but seemed instead to be a peasant, a worker or a peddler.
Like a tent he collapsed and died, his arms stretched out like dry creek-beds. When I searched his pockets for a name, I found two photographs, one of his wife, the other of his daughter.
Did you feel sad? I asked.
Cutting me off, he said, Mahmoud, my friend,
sadness is a white bird that does not come near a battlefield. Soldiers commit a sin when they feel sad.
I was there like a machine spitting hellfire and death, turning space into a black bird.
He told me about his first love, and later, about distant streets, about reactions to the war in the heroic radio and the press.
As he hid a cough in his handkerchief I asked him:
Shall we meet again?
Yes, but in a city far away.
When I filled his fourth glass, I asked jokingly:
Are you off? What about the homeland?
Give me a break, he replied.
I dream of white lilies, streets of song, a house of light.
I need a kind heart, not a bullet.
I need a bright day, not a mad, fascist moment of triumph.
I need a child to cherish a day of laughter, not a weapon of war. I came to live for rising suns, not to witness their setting.
He said goodbye and went looking for white lilies,
a bird welcoming the dawn on an olive branch.
He understands things only as he senses and smells them.
Homeland for him, he said, is to drink my mother’s coffee, to return safely, at nightfall.
I’m torn between 4 and 4.5*. Some areas of this book were astoundingly beautifully written and heartbreaking. Definitely a debut author to watch.
This is a politically and morally driven look at both sides of the Arab-Israeli issue via a coming of age story. I’m guessing some may be drawn from the authors own experiences as he also refused to serve in the Israeli military.
The poet Mahmoud Darwish is mentioned throughout the book and from whose poem the title comes from:
A Soldier Dreams Of White Lilies
By Mahmoud Darwish (1967)
(From Unfortunately, It Was Paradise (2003). Translated and edited by Munir Akash and Carolyn Forché))
He dreams of white lilies, an olive branch, her breasts in evening blossom. He dreams of a bird, he tells me, of lemon flowers.
He does not intellectualize about his dream. He understands things as he senses and smells them.
Homeland for him, he tells me, is to drink my mother’s coffee, to return at nightfall.
And the land? I don’t know the land, he said.
I don’t feel it in my flesh and blood, as they say in the poems.
Suddenly I saw the land as one sees a grocery store, a street, newspapers.
I asked him, but don’t you love the land? My love is a picnic, he said, a glass of wine, a love affair.
- Would you die for the land?
- No!
All my attachment to the land is no more than a story or a fiery speech! They taught me to love it, but I never felt it in my heart.
I never knew its roots and branches, or the scent of its grass.
- And what about its love? Did it burn like suns and desire?
He looked straight at me and said: I love it with my gun. And by unearthing feasts in the garbage of the past
and a deaf-mute idol whose age and meaning are unknown.
He told me about the moment of departure, how his mother silently wept when they led him to the front,
how her anguished voice gave birth to a new hope in his flesh that doves might flock through the Ministry of War.
He drew on his cigarette. He said, as if fleeing from a swamp of blood,
I dreamt of white lilies, an olive branch, a bird embracing the dawn in a lemon tree.
- And what did you see?
- I saw what I did:
a blood-red boxthorn.
I blasted them in the sand...in their chests...in their bellies. - How many did you kill?
- It’s impossible to tell. I only got one medal.
Pained, I asked him to tell me about one of the dead.
He shifted in his seat, fiddled with the folded newspaper,
then said, as if breaking into song:
He collapsed like a tent on stones, embracing shattered planets.
His high forehead was crowned with blood. His chest was empty of medals. He was not a well-trained fighter, but seemed instead to be a peasant, a worker or a peddler.
Like a tent he collapsed and died, his arms stretched out like dry creek-beds. When I searched his pockets for a name, I found two photographs, one of his wife, the other of his daughter.
Did you feel sad? I asked.
Cutting me off, he said, Mahmoud, my friend,
sadness is a white bird that does not come near a battlefield. Soldiers commit a sin when they feel sad.
I was there like a machine spitting hellfire and death, turning space into a black bird.
He told me about his first love, and later, about distant streets, about reactions to the war in the heroic radio and the press.
As he hid a cough in his handkerchief I asked him:
Shall we meet again?
Yes, but in a city far away.
When I filled his fourth glass, I asked jokingly:
Are you off? What about the homeland?
Give me a break, he replied.
I dream of white lilies, streets of song, a house of light.
I need a kind heart, not a bullet.
I need a bright day, not a mad, fascist moment of triumph.
I need a child to cherish a day of laughter, not a weapon of war. I came to live for rising suns, not to witness their setting.
He said goodbye and went looking for white lilies,
a bird welcoming the dawn on an olive branch.
He understands things only as he senses and smells them.
Homeland for him, he said, is to drink my mother’s coffee, to return safely, at nightfall.
November 6, 2017
This gorgeous novel broke my heart again and again. SADNESS IS A WHITE BIRD asks so many questions, questions that are perhaps unanswerable--what does it mean to be a good person? what does it mean to be a good citizen? What does it mean to be a good friend?--against the back drop of the Israeli occupation. This novel shows the way history is intertwined with the present and voices the complexities of the human experience in a way that only fiction can do, and only the most lyrical and beautiful fiction at that. A must read.
January 2, 2024
This book has been staring at me from the bookshelf for months. I bought it because it was so highly rated but unavailable in my tiny library system. But knowing that the topic was going to be heavy on religion (not my cuppa) and debating the 'ownership' of Palestine (also not my cuppa), I let it collect dust until now.
There is no doubt that the writing is lovely - gorgeous descriptions that set you right in the center of a beautiful friendship or feeling the animalistic passion of young love or even the deep-seated fear of being stranded on a highway in enemy territory, not knowing if you will die when the next car stops. Rothman-Zecher's gift lies in painting emotion right into a scene.
Rothman-Zecher also captures the teenaged angst, passion and impatience with all things political. Jonathan feels enormous pressure from peers, his grandfather and the Jewish culture to play his part in defending the Israeli nation. He has always dreamed of being called up to the IDF so that he can fight for Israel and his family's honour.
At 18 years old, Jonathan befriends a set of Palestinian twins. As this triad grow close and then inseparable, Jonathan is introduced to unfamiliar perspectives and he is forced to question all that he has been taught. These friends are not his enemies - or are they? They all love the same things but they are at an age where they must choose between following their cultural roots or walking away from it all.
I found the first half to be very slow. The plot and the action pick up around halfway, when Jonathon follows his Jewish roots to Greece. Here, while indulging his anger at the erasure of Jewish heritage, he finally sees that the displacement of Jews from Greece is essentially the same situation as Palestinian displacement in Israel.
It took a long time and a lot of backstory to bring us along to that point.
This is a tender topic for many but, as a complete outsider for either side, I think that Rothman-Zender did an excellent job of sharing both perspectives.
There is no doubt that the writing is lovely - gorgeous descriptions that set you right in the center of a beautiful friendship or feeling the animalistic passion of young love or even the deep-seated fear of being stranded on a highway in enemy territory, not knowing if you will die when the next car stops. Rothman-Zecher's gift lies in painting emotion right into a scene.
Rothman-Zecher also captures the teenaged angst, passion and impatience with all things political. Jonathan feels enormous pressure from peers, his grandfather and the Jewish culture to play his part in defending the Israeli nation. He has always dreamed of being called up to the IDF so that he can fight for Israel and his family's honour.
At 18 years old, Jonathan befriends a set of Palestinian twins. As this triad grow close and then inseparable, Jonathan is introduced to unfamiliar perspectives and he is forced to question all that he has been taught. These friends are not his enemies - or are they? They all love the same things but they are at an age where they must choose between following their cultural roots or walking away from it all.
I found the first half to be very slow. The plot and the action pick up around halfway, when Jonathon follows his Jewish roots to Greece. Here, while indulging his anger at the erasure of Jewish heritage, he finally sees that the displacement of Jews from Greece is essentially the same situation as Palestinian displacement in Israel.
It took a long time and a lot of backstory to bring us along to that point.
This is a tender topic for many but, as a complete outsider for either side, I think that Rothman-Zender did an excellent job of sharing both perspectives.
October 27, 2017
I'm so happy that I picked up this ARC! I loved every minute of it. Rothman-Zecher's story is a morally complex one that eschews easy answers, choosing instead to focus on a group of unlikely friends trying to find a third path in a polarized culture.
Jonathan, an Israeli-American teenager, is a dyed in the wool Zionist. His family suffered great loss in the Holocaust and, as a result, he is super committed to the project of Israel. After spending most of his life stateside, Jonathan's family returns to the promise land when Jonathan is in high school, and Jonathan — who often prefers the Hebrew pronunciation of his name, Yonathan — is thrilled to be back home. He's eagerly anticipating the day when he'll join the military so that he can do his part to protect his people. His blind nationalist view is challenged, however, when he befriends Nimreen and Laith, the twin daughter and son of his mom's Palestinian friend. The trio quickly develop a deep bond, which forces Jonathan to confront the atrocities Israel has perpetrated against the Palestinians. Throughout the book Jonathan struggles to reconcile his love for his people with the complicated history of his country.
As I said, there are no easy answers here and that's what makes it such a great read. Jonathan desperately wants to be able to justify Israel based on the horrors that his people have suffered, but he can't dismiss the arguments his friends bring up. By focusing on personal relationships, Rothman-Zecher weaves a touching, beautiful Romeo & Juliet story with shades of Baldwin's Giovanni's Room. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait till everybody gets a chance to read this come February!
If you liked this, make sure to follow me on Goodreads for more reviews!
Jonathan, an Israeli-American teenager, is a dyed in the wool Zionist. His family suffered great loss in the Holocaust and, as a result, he is super committed to the project of Israel. After spending most of his life stateside, Jonathan's family returns to the promise land when Jonathan is in high school, and Jonathan — who often prefers the Hebrew pronunciation of his name, Yonathan — is thrilled to be back home. He's eagerly anticipating the day when he'll join the military so that he can do his part to protect his people. His blind nationalist view is challenged, however, when he befriends Nimreen and Laith, the twin daughter and son of his mom's Palestinian friend. The trio quickly develop a deep bond, which forces Jonathan to confront the atrocities Israel has perpetrated against the Palestinians. Throughout the book Jonathan struggles to reconcile his love for his people with the complicated history of his country.
As I said, there are no easy answers here and that's what makes it such a great read. Jonathan desperately wants to be able to justify Israel based on the horrors that his people have suffered, but he can't dismiss the arguments his friends bring up. By focusing on personal relationships, Rothman-Zecher weaves a touching, beautiful Romeo & Juliet story with shades of Baldwin's Giovanni's Room. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait till everybody gets a chance to read this come February!
If you liked this, make sure to follow me on Goodreads for more reviews!
October 14, 2018
This is a story about the conflict between Palestine and Israel, but it is told through the lens of three friends: Jonathan (American bred, but Israeli born) and siblings - Nimreem and Laith (twins).
Jonathan moves from Pennsylvania to his home country of Israel. He was born there, but raised in America after his Israeli mother wanted to leave the country. Jonathan returns as a teenager to serve in the military and fight to preserve the Jewish state his grandfather help found. But all of this isn't so black and white. In fact, Jonathan soon finds that it is all rather gray.
I can't explain the powerful pull this book had on me. The friendship that develops between the twins and Jonathan feels genuine and visceral in a way that friendships between teenagers can feel: desperate and life-affirming and enormous in the face of other things in your life.
As the plot inched forward, I knew that this friendship would be tested in a way I couldn't comprehend. In the narrative, Jonathan addresses Laith only as if he is speaking directly to him, so this hints at events to come, but doesn't reveal anything until close to the end of the book.
I will seek out the poets mentioned and I can't wait to see what else Rothman-Zecher brings forth in his writing. Amazing. I inhaled as I got to the last page and was just torn apart and had to keep reading that last page over and over and over.
Jonathan moves from Pennsylvania to his home country of Israel. He was born there, but raised in America after his Israeli mother wanted to leave the country. Jonathan returns as a teenager to serve in the military and fight to preserve the Jewish state his grandfather help found. But all of this isn't so black and white. In fact, Jonathan soon finds that it is all rather gray.
I can't explain the powerful pull this book had on me. The friendship that develops between the twins and Jonathan feels genuine and visceral in a way that friendships between teenagers can feel: desperate and life-affirming and enormous in the face of other things in your life.
As the plot inched forward, I knew that this friendship would be tested in a way I couldn't comprehend. In the narrative, Jonathan addresses Laith only as if he is speaking directly to him, so this hints at events to come, but doesn't reveal anything until close to the end of the book.
I will seek out the poets mentioned and I can't wait to see what else Rothman-Zecher brings forth in his writing. Amazing. I inhaled as I got to the last page and was just torn apart and had to keep reading that last page over and over and over.
January 4, 2024
4.5 stars
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