Product Description

In the summer of 1967, not long after the six day war, a young Palestinian man and two friends ventured into the town of Ramla in Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes, from which they and their families had been driven out nearly twenty years earlier. One cousin had the door slammed in his face, one found that his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir, was met at the door by a young woman named Dalia, who invited him in. This poignant encounter is the starting point for the story of two families - one Arab, one Jewish - which spans the fraught modern history of the region. In the lemon tree his father planted in the backyard of his childhood home, Bashir sees a symbol of dispossession and occupation; Dalia, who arrived in 1948 as an infant with her family, as a fugitive from Bulgaria, sees hope for a people devastated by the Holocaust. Both are inevitably swept up in the fates of their people and the stories of their lives form a microcosm of more than half a century of Israeli-Palestinian history. What began as a simple meeting between two young people grew into a dialogue lasting four decades, a dialogue which may represent the region's only hope for peace. "The Lemon Tree" offers a much needed human perspective on this seemingly intractable conflict and reminds us not only of all that is at stake, but also of all that is possible.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #398229 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

New Statemsman
'Reads like a novel... an informed take for anyone interested in
the human stories behind a conflict.'

The Times
At a time when peace seems remote and darkness deepens, this
lucid, humane, hopeful book shines like a ray of light.

New Statesman
Reads like a novel... an informed take for anyone interested in
the human stories behind a conflict.

Customer Reviews

good balance book; well written story

a human story about the Palestine-Israel situation, with all of the complexity that human stories have. No good guys, no bad guys, just people on both sides trying to survive, provide for their families, and thrive. very well written.

An Excellent read
A very interesting account from two individuals perspective of the schism between Israel and Palestine. An excellent account of the history of the birth of Israel and the Palestinian rift. Excellent for its chronology of events in what can only be described as a very complex and fast moving period. Very useful for individuals who want to know about the origin of problems in the Middle East. Sorry, its my first review and I havent given the book justice, but it is a must to read.