Finding peace............

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all.

—Emily Dickinson

Michelle Cohen Corasanti's debut novel, The Almond Tree is a story of courage, perseverance and hope. The story is about a Palestinian boy, his brother, his family and their tribunals; the boy being Ahmad Hamid (Ichmad) and his brother Abbas. The story takes us through the different paths taken by the brothers in response to the events that occur in their life. It is a journey of enlightenment.

The story begins in 1950s when Ichmad’s kid-sister, Amal is blown away by a land-mine while trying to catch a butterfly. This is just the beginning of the hardships, pain, humiliation and further deaths in Ichmad’s life. The only good things that Ichmad enjoys, in the midst of chaos, are his Baba’s (father’s) songs, winning backgammon board game and his love for numbers.

Amidst all this stands the almond tree in the backyard of their house / tent. The almond tree more than often becomes Ichmad’s sounding board. When his father is wrongly imprisoned for Ichmad’s deeds, he finds the guilt and pain unbearable. But it is father who insists Ichmad to follow his dreams and espouse peace rather than conflict. It is his father who believes that education alone can bring in prosperity and peace to the region, and thus urges Ichmad to carry on his love for numbers that ultimately lands him in Hebrew University.

From herein, Ichmad is pitted against intolerance at every turn – even from inside his own family, Ichmad’s staunchly traditional mother, his wronged brother Abbas, the construction worker-Avee, his Professor Menachem Sharon and several nameless soldiers. But Ichmad holds on to his beliefs and through his sincerity and genius brings around even his staunchest opposition.

The Almond Tree tells a story of a family, although divided by their personal beliefs, still stands united by love. The novel defies the fact that it is Corasanti’s debut work. Corasanti neither glorifies one side’s struggle nor justifies the other side’s atrocities. There are no traditional heroes or villains in this story. It’s rather the situation that makes the character a hero or a villain. The story rarely depicts itself as a work of fiction; instead it seems like a personal memoir of struggle, hope and the search for peace.

Corasanti depicts a wide range of emotions through her writing. Be it the depiction of the Amal’s death, or “the breeze pushing my back” egging Ichmad to carry on, Corasanti is able to emotionally connect to her readers. But, I feel dejected to some extent because I think the characters were not properly developed. The story is an account of the family members, but as a reader I hope for more depth to the characters. Perhaps the second book from Corasanti will do so.

The Almond Tree personifies the resilience of the human spirit. Corasanti brings out this sentiment beautifully in the lines “their strength lay in their roots, which were so deep that even if the trees were cut down, they survived and sent forth shoots to create new generations.” It also exemplifies the duty to one’s family, one’s sacrifices for his/her family and to honor what one strongly believes in.

The Almond Tree brings forth the utmost necessity of education and thus hopes to bring in prosperity and peace.

Disclosure: In compliance with FTC guidelines, I hereby state that I received this book for free through ‘Goodreads First Reads’.