Customer Reviews

Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In this wonderfully witty narrative, Amiry reveals herself to be a gifted storyteller. I alternated between laughing and crying as I read the vignettes surrounding her daily life in Ramallah. These range from suffering under curfew alone with her mother-in-law, to rattling Israeli soldiers with a disarming stare, to attending a fundraiser featuring campy Palestinian items in order to bail out a friend who had been thrown in jail on false charges. Amiry brings to life the day-to-day human experience of living under occupation. In doing so, she makes a significant contribution to both literature and to our understanding of the Palestinian condition.

It is amazing when one can read a book and feel as if one is living it. I almost wanted to be imprisoned in my house for 14 consecutive days to know how it feels to be living under curfew and military occupation. Just didn't want the mother in law to be part of this deal!

The book very casually shows that Palestinians will never go away. They are here to stay no matter how many walls, checkpoints, raids, and dehumanizing Palestinians suffer under the Israeli military occupation and the world's deaf ear and blind eyes.

So grow up Sharon, get a life, and make real peace.

I wish I could give this book to everyone who denies the horrors of the Israeli occupation. A wonderful book, funny and moving, that shows the humanity of the too-often dehumanized Palestinian people.

Suad Amiry's book is very witty and easy to read. The book is based on a compilation of emails, letters and Amiry's recollection of the various events. Amiry offers a portrayal of life of a relatively well off Palestinian family under Israeli occupation. The Israeli occupation and the siege of their city feature prominently in the book but almost as natural disasters or "Act of God" ..so they are there thrown into the mix making ordinary complex life even more complicated. The politics of the occupation are touched upon but clearly what is central is just the day to day life.

The title of the book is very much a reflection of the light hearted style of the book but also of the very menacing undertones. In the United States Sharon largely has(d) the reputation of being a tough minded and determined leader and with the Gaza withdrawal in 2005 as a peacemaker; whereas in most of the world outside of the US Sharon is seen as a ruthless cruel man responsible for the death and destruction of many who was sanctioned by his own country and was even wanted for trial on war crime charges in Europe. For the Palestinians I imagine Sharon had simply been a brutal merciless monster; the title Sharon & My Mother in Law with that background is therefore very ironic! A daughter - mother in law relationship in a middle eastern environment is never straight forward ..the very words mother in law carry a whole world of conations. The very title of the book comes across funny to any Middle Eastern; equating or even putting Sharon & mother in law in the same sentence carries with the wit and the determination that comes across in Amiry's words.

Many reviewers of this book talked about the book illustrating the humanity of the Palestinians, I doubt if that has been on Amiry's mind; for those who doubt the humanity of the Palestinians better read John Grisham or watch Pirates of the Caribbean; this book celebrates the humanity of the Palestinians and the triumph of their spirit.

I read this book within a day, I just couldn't put it down, it was so beautifully written, and so easy to read.
Suad Amiry has a remarkable ability to say in one sentence what other writers take three pages over. A single sentence can be so thought-provoking, you consider all the many implications that follow from just one statement.
Despite the misery of her situation, Suad's defiance of her occupiers is hilarious - what a courageous and spunky woman! Her frankness and honesty of her own feelings, including her failings, are also very impressive.
Well done to Suad Amiry, I eagerly look forward to her next book - I hope she will write one!

simply a brilliant book.. read it in a couple of days as i couldn't leave it for so long before i finish it.. details are very humane, funny at times, and heartbreaking at others.. it is a reality.. this is how difficult life can be..

Mostly I'm disappointed at an opportunity lost. I also lived through the first years of the 1987 Intifada, and found the book did little to capture the fear and trepidation--and thrill of risky freedom--that it meant to many Palestinians. There's too much attention to cutesy trifles and self-aggrandizement, and little of grit and substance; we deserved more than a suggestion of inconvenience. I found no commanding story or strong narrative; it reads like days were picked at random. To be fair, the title does say it's based on a diary.

It's good to see literature dealing with day-to-day Palestinian life under occupation, and how difficult it makes things we otherwise take for granted, no matter how bland the reporting, but the daily humiliation, the deprivation of essentials and the hopelessness of the politics is not felt. This book could have been so much more. I wanted angst and I got a dog with a permit.

I've been trying to read more books by Palestinian authors after reading "Mornings in Jenin". "Sharon and My Mother-in-Law" was a look into how ordinary Palestinians in the Occupied Territories live and work: the extraordinary need for permits, the terrors and uncertainies during the curfews, the indignities of being treated like a terrorist simply because you were born in a certain city. Any such view, is for me, an eye-opener, and therefore of interest.

Unfortunately, I found the book's writing distracting in a couple of ways. First, it was hard for me to follow the timeline as it shifted and jumped. I frequently lost track of which intifada we were in or how long the author had been married/in Ramallah/working at any given point. Second, there is very little about the author's mother-in-law, despite the title and book jacket, and I kept wondering when that relationship, and its tensions, were finally going to be explored, or any relationship, for that matter.

So although I respected the author's experiences living in occupied Ramallah, I could never really appreciate her experience because it remained remote for me.

A Witty and Intelligent Documentary of Israel's Illegitimate Occupation of the Land of Palestine, and its Brutal Oppression of the Palestinian People.
An Inspirational and Defiant Resistance to the Occupation portrayed by Ms. Amiri in a captivating style and a complex expression of feelings of both the Occupier (Israeli Army) and the Occupied (Palestinian People): Destruction and Building, Deceipt and Honesty, Cynical and Factual, Depressing and Funny, Sad and Pleasant, Frustrating and Hopeful, Pessimistic and Optimistic, Denial and Hope.....
A must read by all who care for human rights and civility.

his book has many feelings it is written in a sarcastic way so expect a lot of laugh! It also tells many many stories of the author's life and struggle to get an identity card "Hawiyyeh". The book describes the life of Palestinian intellects (yes they do exist!) and their going struggle and peaceful resistance with the Israeli soldiers. If I can rate this book 10/5 I would have! Needless to say its a MUST read. You will learn some history and get a feel of the current situation in Palestine. Also the book language is very easy to read.