The Scar of David [Hardcover]

Susan Abulhawa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 2006

The Scar of David is historic fiction about a Palestinian family from the village of Ein Hod, which was emptied of its inhabitants by the newly formed State of Israel in 1948. It is told in the first person by Amal, who is born into that family in a UN-administered refugee camp in Jenin, where her family would eventually die waiting, or fighting, to return to their beloved Palestine. Set in lap of one of the 20 th century's most intractable political conflicts, this novel weaves through history, friendship, love, frayed identity, terrorism, exhaustion of the spirit, surrender, and courage. Three massacres and two major wars provide five corners to this novel: 1. Sabra and Shatila, Lebanon, 1982; 2. US embassy bombing, Beirut, 1983; 3. Refugee camp of Jenin, West Bank, 2002; 4. The Naqbe , Mandate Palestine, 1948; and 5. The Six Day War, Middle East, 1967. During the family's eviction from their ancestral village, Ishmael, Amal's brother is lost in the mayhem of people fleeing for their lives. Just a toddler at the time, Ishmael is raised by a Jewish family and grows up as David, an Israeli soldier. During the 1967 war, Yousef, Amal's eldest brother, comes face to face with David, his brother the Jew. Yousef recognizes his brother by a prominent scar across David's face. The title of this story takes its name from this scar, and assumes other layers of meaning as it is told. The end is the beginning: terrible suffering packaged by Western press into perfidious sound bites, like "the Middle East Conflict," and "War on Terrorism." But through the course of this story, a suicide bomber is given a name, face and life of a man pushed to incomprehensible limits; An Arab girl of pious and humble beginnings escapes her destiny and lives the "American Dream," which her soul cannot bear; An Israeli man becomes tangled in a truth he cannot reconcile, and his identity can find no repose but in the temporary anesthetic of alcohol.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Every now and again a literary work changes the way people think. Abulhawa, 2003 winner of the Edna Andrade Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Award, has crafted a brilliant first novel about Palestine. The book opens in the 1940s, in the small village of Ein Hod, before the forced relocation of residents to the Jenin refugee camp. Once in the settlement, a young girl named Amal Abulhawa becomes the story-s focus. Through Amal-s eyes, readers see the daily routines of generations of refugees and glimpse the indignities imposed on Palestinians by the Israeli army; they-ll also see people fall in love, have babies, and develop an appreciation for poetry and scholarship. While some readers might see this novel as anti-Semitic, it is not. Indeed, Abulhawa goes to great lengths to highlight the universal desire of all people for a homeland. Furthermore, Abulhawa-s compassion for American victims of 9/11 and for those who suffered in the Holocaust illuminates what it means to be humane and spiritually generous. The Pennsylvania-based Abulhawa, herself Palestinian, has crafted an intensely beautiful fictionalized history that should be read by both politicians and those interested in contemporary politics. Highly recommended. --Library Journal, June 1, 2006

About the Author

Susan Abulhawa was born to refugees of the Six Day War of 1967, when her family was disassembled and their land seized. She grew up between Kuwait, Jerusalem, North Carolina, and Jordan. Frustrated by biased news coverage of the plight of Palestinians, Susan began to write op-eds for newspapers in USA, including the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Philadelphia Inquirer, and more. In April 2002, she traveled to the West Bank when reports began to surface that a massacre was taking place in the refugee camp of Jenin. She bore witness to the inhumanity that took place there and became determined to tell the story of Jenin's brave people. In July 2001, Susan also created her own foundation, Playgrounds for Palestine, to build playgrounds for children living in the occupied territories. In addition to writing The Scar of David, which is being translated into several languages, Susan is a contributing author to two anthologies, Shattered Illusions and Searching Jenin.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Journey Publications; First edition. edition (December 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977207889
• ISBN-13: 978-0977207886
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #982,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Abulhawa was born to refugees of the 1967 war when Israel captured what remained of Palestine, including Jerusalem. She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her daughter. She is the founder and President of Playgrounds for Palestine, a children's organization dedicated to upholding The Right to Play for Palestinian children. Her essays and political commentaries have appeared in print and international news media and she is a contributing author to two anthologies, Shattered Illusions (Amal Press, 2002) and Searching Jenin (Cune Press, 2003). Mornings in Jenin is her first novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unforgettable story, February 14, 2007

By 

Pearl Crescent (Delmarva, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scar of David (Hardcover)

I keep a journal and record in it much of what I read, because at 66 much of what I read is eminently forgettable, both by virtue of its lack of importance and due to my failing memory. But I will never forget this book.

"The Scar of David" gives a voice to the tragedy of a people whose own story has always been overshadowed by the looming darkness that is the Holocaust. I am unable to read it without a trememdous sadness. Susan Abulhawa's book moved me to tears for many reasons. Since others have summarized the subject matter here, I will not, and say only that it is the story of the conflict in the Middle East and the Palestinian experience within it, from the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 to the present day.

No tragedy has ever been narrated by a voice more genuine and believable. I have read Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Eugene O'Neill and Faulkner, but never have I seen the eternal human tragedy more exquisitely rendered. Abulhawa makes us see that the things that unite us are far more numerous than the things that divide us. We all need and seek love, bear offspring and love them, seek to protect them and share their pain when they hurt. We all feel fear, we all feel grief. Our children all need to play and learn and grow into adults who will be the sum of all their experiences. We all need shelter, food and water, and a sense of continuity, of a shared past and a certain future.

If her prose is occasionally a little more florid than I would like, it is more than made up for with emotional authenticity. Reading this book is a penance and a revelation, and yes, everyone should read this book, but gird your loins before you do.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving, tragic, and a must read, January 15, 2007

By 

Brian Wood (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Scar of David (Hardcover)

Ms. Abulhawa has composed a marvelous story that weaves history with fiction, personal experience with imagination into a dynamic novel that offers points of contact for readers of many backgrounds. Her narration thick with motherly affection and human virtue invites the reader to read slowly and truly experience the story she is trying to tell. Ein Hod, outside of current-day Jenin district, is the village of the Abul Heija's, a rural Palestinian family who are forced to flee during the war in 1948. Amal Abul Heijah, the granddaughter of the family, takes center stage as a symbol of hope and the tenacious will of survival, creativity, and love, even if doubt, depression, and poverty cloud her dreams and opportunities. Amal's struggle for self-identification, caused by several layers of displacement from family, land, and home, is constantly accompanied by her detailed memory, which ultimately leads her to her destination. A must read.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and beautifully written, January 8, 2007

By 

M. Lodge - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Scar of David (Hardcover)

This narrative may be fiction, but it tells the common experience of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories and in the diaspora. Abulhawa touches on critical historical events, 1948, 1967, Sabra & Shatila, as well as life under military occupation and the ensuing uprisings. She places these events in the context of human lives and mundane daily events of cooking meals, going to school, making love, and raising children. Her characters have both complexity and humanity, drawing in the reader to care about their circumstance and future. Abulhawa's encapsulates a variety of Palestinian experiences, including growing up in a refugee camp, moving abroad, participation in military actions, and wishing the rest of the world would take notice of the injustice. Abulhawa deftly includes the lives of Israelis, as well, treating them with respect and touching on the experiences of surviving the Holocaust and mandatory military service.

The book reads very quickly; I had to force myself to slow down to savor Abulhawa's prose. Her writing is deeply felt and very tangible. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.