A Stone in My Hand

For someone who has little understanding of cultural tension, this book is extremely well-written and helps reader empathize with situations in the middle east.

Eleven year-old Malaak Abed Atieh lives with her mother, her older sister Hend and her older brother Hamid in Gaza City. It's been a month since their father left to look for work as a mechanic in Israel, only to disappear. Every day she climbs up to the roof and waits for him, imagining that she can fly to the prison cell where she is convinced he's being held. She hardly speaks to anybody except her pet bird Abdo. As tensions mount between the Israelis and Palestinians, Malaak realizes she can't remain in her world of silence anymore. Each day becomes a struggle for her when her mother tells her that her father is dead. It gets even harder when Hamid tells her that he and his friend, Tariq, have become involved in a hate group. When the rest of the family finds out, they know he's in danger and try to get him out of the hate group with no success. Their worst fears are realized when Hamid gets shot in the head one day and has to go to the hospital. Will Hamid remain alive or will he die like his father? This book made me feel sorry for all of the people who are experiencing war in their home countries. Nobody should have to go through that kind of turmoil in their lives. If I were Hamid, I would not have joined the hate group because violence does not solve problems. What would you have done if you were Hamid? If you like to read moving stories, read this book to find out what happens to Malaak and her family. --- Reviewed by Ashley Hartlaub

Eleven-year-old Malaak has stopped talking to her family and friends since her father disappeared a month ago. She spends most of her time on the roof of her building in the Palestinian community of Gaza City. In this refuge, she speaks to her dove Abdo, a gift from her father. In this place, she says, "I soar out of the Gaza Strip. Nothing stops me, not the concrete and razor wire, not the guns, not the soldiers." It is the first intifada of 1988 and Malaak is experiencing the mounting armed conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis.When Malaak learns that her father was killed on a bus by a terrorist's bomb, she retreats into an inner world where she sees her father in dreams. All around her, however, the violence increases between the Palestinian youth or "shabab" and the Israeli soldiers. Malaak's mother and her sister Hend decry the violence of Islamic Jihad whom they hold responsible for their father's death. Hamid, Malaak's 12-year-old brother is increasingly drawn in by its angry and uncompromising righteousness. Malaak loves her brother, her protector and a poet, but is scared to see him move increasingly under the influence of others who embrace violence as the solution to the occupation of the Gaza Strip.The power of A Stone in My Hand is its insightful portrayal of the scars left on those children living in a zone of armed conflict and unending violence. From the silencing of Malaak by grief, to the rash, dangerous decisions of Hamid, we see children living in a world out of their control, coping in ways that are more instinctual than rational. The scars left by the ravages of armed violence are evident. However, for Malaak, the love of her family and the memory of her father provide the balm to soothe her wounds.

At a time when so much violence permeates the Middle East, this "insightful gem" is a must read. The perspective presented here is seldom heard. The reader will gain an understanding of the fear, humiliation, and despair that is endured by so many people in this region. Oh, how I wish that many of our leaders would read this book!

Clinton's beautifully-written novel is a powerful evocation of people trapped in a cycle of violence and is essential reading. I thoroughly disagree with the previous reviewer's assertion that this book provides a completely one-sided view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both sides have been guilty of so many atrocities that any moral credit as victims has long since been used up. Malaak's hope, and the message of the novel, is to move beyond violence, not to defeat oppression with violence - from the stone in the hand to the bomber in the bus.I also believe that the sentiment expressed by the previous reviewer - that is, that criticism of the Israeli state constitutes anti-semitism - is a dangerous and foolish position to take. If I criticise the leaders of the USA, does that make me anti-American? Actually, in the current climate, perhaps many people think it does...