Mornings in Jenin

Yup! I just finished another book :) But before I go on with my review, I've a story of my own..

Recently, one of my staff went to Israel for pilgrimage. I was excited to see the pictures. I wanted to see what the land of Palestine have become these days. As I was browsing through the album..

Staff: Saya rasa bagus lagi bha dorang di bawah Israel. Maju.. Yang bahagian2 orang orang Palestin ni semua miskin..

I'm very bad at hiding my facial expression. I think I gave her a frown that says "What da..!!??" I, of course, don't agree with this. Never! The Palestinians are gradually being banished from their own land and this has been going on for almost a century. Just imagine if Sabahans are being exiled from their own land by some intruder.. Owh how sad that would be. Being colonized is a different thing. You're still staying in your own land but have to abide to the rulings of strangers.. But when you're being exiled, you have to abandon your own land and could only live with memories~

But then... Many people are not aware of the issue. They heard from the news that Israel is the bad guy but don't know what it's all about...

Sooooo.. Now about the book... I like it very much!!!

The characters are fictional but the chronology of attacks on the Palestinians are true. The author goes back to the days when there is still Palestine. She described how they'd lived in normalcy; nothing to be afraid of and can just go on with daily living without fear of death.

The story actually tells about the story of a family of 4 generations. The ones who'd lived in Palestine, the ones who have to deal with exile, the ones who have to deal with massacres and the ones who'd survived and have to deal with loss.

Actually, books like this are in a way kind of similar to each other. There'll be fear, uncertainties, longings, rage and whatnot. But the cliche' never bore me because that's the reality; those are the definite emotions that will arise when you're living the life of those in the stories.

The part that touched me most is their unwavering hope to go back to their own land. Like in From Beirut to Jerusalem, the characters in this book are also persevere and very good in reconstructing life.

I also like the author's style of writing; poetic and very detail that you can clearly imagine the how it was before the war and after that.. (^^) If you like Kite Runner, you'll like this very much