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’.