Dreaming of Palestine: A Novel of Friendship, Love & War

By Randa Ghazy

Book Overview

Writing in a passionate blend of poetry and prose, fifteen-year-old first-time novelist Randa Ghazy creates a convincing portrait of a group of friends who have grown up surrounded by fighting and know no world other than one with war or at least the threat of it. With eloquence and sensitivity, Ghazy creates a portrait of life in the Middle East that alternates the horrors of living amid war with the experiences of life-altering friendships, growing-up, falling in love, and dreaming of the future. Ibrahim, Nedal, Ramy, Mohammad, Ahmed, Gihad, Riham, and Uilad are characters with whom we can identify, even as they are experiencing the unimaginable.

Imagining the day-to-day experience of the Arab-Israeli conflict from a Palestinian perspective, Ghazy presents us with a world in which misery, frustration, and a sense of duty are ever-present, but in which hope continues to exist. Refusing to mince words, the book includes occasional passages of harsh language and depicts grim events that are meant to express the sentiments and realities of a population that the author believes to be underrepresented. By boldly depicting a sometimes shocking reality, Dreaming of Palestine underscores the importance of balancing thought with feeling, and loyalty with sympathy, making it clear that support for Israel and support for Palestine are not mutually exclusive.

Dreaming of Palestine bravely addresses a field of issues and feelings into which many writers would not even venture, and it comes at a time when maintaining freedom of speech is especially important. A novel that demands reflection, the book gives voice to the voiceless, while offering itself as a launching pad for dialogue and debate. With the confidence and eloquence of a mature novelist, the young Ghazy offers a story that might astonish readers with its intensity, but offers hope.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807615226
• ISBN13: 9780807615225
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: George Braziller
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

the best book

I read a lot and this is by far he best book I have ever read in my entire life. I felt as though I was a part of the family of friendship. I have never lived in Palestine, however, my parents moved here in the 70's when the war forced them out. Through reading this book I was able to understand the lives of Palestinians and understand what it means to be a Palestinian. I wish the world could read this book and understand the hearts of the Palestians who are truly the lost people. I still can not believe author is only 15 years old, Good Job!!! I noticed that a lot of people had negative reviews on this book. I only wish that they could have read it with a more open mind. Never did the author encourage violence. She only tried to explain the deep frustration that causes one to find death as the only way out. Thank god I was raised in America and I have all the wonderful rights that I enjoy. I never worry about my home being leveled or my family being killed. But, I can only imagine how different life would be for me if I did not have the freedom I do.

Good read

All these accusations that this book makes racist remarks is unfounded. Come on, this book is a novel, the author is writing about people's experience and any comments made were by the characters, not the then 15-year old author. If you're going to write about about the Intifada, you're going to have to expose the truth about the brutal Israeli occupation, the threat of the Jewish settlers and the reasons behind this new phenomena of suicide bombings. No one is endorcing suicide here. But what most fail to question, this author does. WHY are desperate people, who've lost their family, home and everything else, driven to such terrible deeds? This book conveys such realities.

Amazing

This book is wonderfully written, it really makes you feel the plight of the Palestinian people. And it makes you understand why they resist in the way that they do. It really helped to put a face to the statistics of Palestinians being murdered by the Israeli's and wow, for being written by a 15 year old.

This books deserves more attention

I wasn't expecting to like "Dreaming of Palestine." I assumed it would heavy-handed, manipulative, and-since it was penned by a then-15-year old-perhaps not even well written. But I was wrong-on all counts. Heavy-handed it's not. Ghazy's stream of consciousness prose woven through the narrative (translated from the Italian by Marguerite Shore) is at first distracting, then mesmerizing. As I began to grasp the reality of the characters' lives, I realized their story couldn't be told any other way. Violence, destruction, and grief don't happen in ordered, logical sentences, with proper structure and format. The story follows the intersections of the lives of eight young Palestinians-Ibrahim, Nedal, Riham, Mohammed, Ramy, Gihad, Ahmed, and Ualid. Religion is not the common denominator that draws them together, since one of them is Christian. Instead they share the common experience of having lost family members at the hands of Israeli soldiers. Generations of war have destroyed their families and their heritage. They have every reason to be terrorists, but they are not. They strive-not always successfully-to live lives committed to non-violence and peace. Throughout the novel, the recurring theme of achieving non-violence one person at a time resonates. Manipulative it's not. The seven men and one woman are like orphans in search of a family. This desire for family, to live among human beings who care for each other, is what binds them together. They cope with the unpredictable violence from the Israeli occupation forces by living together and helping each other create some sense of normalcy in their lives. Their bonds of friendship and love for each other give hope and meaning to their lives, under utterly hopeless circumstances. Politics and war represent disruption and devastation in their lives, not the force that drives them. This novel is well written. I could easily dismiss that statement by adding: for a 15-year old. But that's not the case. Each character is so uniquely drawn I couldn't help but wonder if they are based on actual people. Ghazy shows a keen understanding of the lives of young adults, their dreams, fears, and the everyday struggles unique to that stage of life that seems far beyond her years. In contrasting these essences of normal life with the horror of neverending war, she displays real sophistication as a writer. I believe "Dreaming of Palestine" is an important novel. It's not so much about religion or politics as it is about how war destroys young lives. It should be required reading for all young adults because they are the ones who will ultimately deal with the tragic inheritance of this conflict, and the trauma that will endure well into the future.

Brilliant Exposition of the Effects of Israeli Terrorism

This is the story of a group of young friends who have to deal daily with the racism, torture and murder inflicted by the illegal Israeli occupiers of Palestine. Some of them are murdered by the Israelis.This is not a political tract, but a novel. It presents credible characters in an incredible but unfortunately real situation. Of course every Zionist propagandist is going to decry this wonderful first book.