A Trumpet in the Wadi [Hardcover]

Sami Michael (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2003

Coming of age during the 1982 Arab-Israeli conflict in Lebanon, fatherless sisters Huda and Mary, Arabians living in the Jewish city of Haifa, find their lives impacted by new neighbor Alex, a trumpet-playing Jewish Russian who awakens Huda's despairing soul and prompts Mary's dangerous foray into a

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Haifa just before the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, this spirited, bittersweet novel captures the Arab-Israeli conflict in microcosm. The seaside city is home to a family of Christian Arabs: irascible Elias, the patriarch; his busy daughter-in-law, Umm-Huda; and her fatherless daughters, the beautiful Mary and her older, deplorably still unwed sister Huda. Also living in their crowded building in the wadi, or Arab quarter, is newcomer Alex, short in stature but well-muscled, a Russian-Jewish immigrant who plays his trumpet soulfully in the building's rooftop shed. His music, patience and remarkable physique awaken the interest of reticent Huda, while Mary rejects the advances of Zuhair, the son of their shady Muslim landlord, for the security of plodding Wahid, her Muslim cousin. A trip taken by the two couples to the Red Sea resort of Eilat is an uproarious highlight, and a visit by Huda and Alex to a nursing home to see Alex's ailing but tyrannical mother is a striking set-piece. The translation is occasionally stiff, and Michael tends toward over-explanation, but the novel deals cleverly and humorously with complicated relationships. Against the tragic backdrop of current events, the willingness of Michael's characters to ignore the strictures of individual religious beliefs and to shun fanaticism, is refreshing, though perhaps increasingly hard to credit.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Love is love, but love is hard, and never more so than in this story of two sisters, Christian Arabs who live in the Wadi, the Arab quarter of Haifa. Mary is pregnant by their landlord's son but is craftily negotiating a marriage with Wahid and placating his terrible mother. Huda feels herself closed and cold but is taken by the sounds of the trumpet coming from the attic room--Alex, a Russian Jew, plays the instrument. The sisters live with their widowed mother and their Egyptian grandfather, and the dances between Alex and Huda and between Mary and Wahid's family ride the currents of Jew and Muslim, Arab and Christian. Huda's blossoming like a flower is cut short in the most tragic way, a political end to a personal tale. Beautiful writing that survives the translator's journey. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743244966
• ISBN-13: 978-0743244961
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars moving and thought provoking, June 24, 2004

By A Customer

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This review is from: A Trumpet in the Wadi (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully told love story told in the context of a conflict that overwhelms the individuals caught in its web. The characters are drawn so memorably, the cultures that come together described from the heart, and the meaning of family, love and duty are explored in a subtle manner that does not interfere with the telling of the story. It is a powerful indictment of war, and anyone who is lucky enough to read this book will not only be moved by the beauty of the writing, but will also gain a clearer view of the impact of the Palestinian-Israeli struggle upon the lives of the people who live in the region. A must read!!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Idea but Requires more Depth and Detail, October 17, 2008

By 

Arthur C. Hurwitz (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Trumpet in the Wadi (Hardcover)

3 1/2 stars, actually. As an idea, this book challenges the notion that Israel is really a "Jewish State" and depicts "Israelis" as being multi-cultural and multi-ethnic. This book begins with a Christian Arab familiy living in Haifa, in which a Russian Jewish immigrant rents an apartment in their building and then marries one of the Arab daughters. Part of what makes this book interesting is that the Arabs are depicted as "integrated" into Israeli society via language and even cultural interests, and Alex, the Russian Jewish Immigrant, an outsider. I feel that the reasons for Alex's alienation and his experiences with the Israeli Jewish society should have been discussed in more detail to show that even as he is supposed to be, ideologically, repatriated to his "homeland," and rejoined to his "people," he is not at all accepted for what he is there, other than by the Arabs. Even so, Alex still considers himself a part of "The Jewish Nation" and feels that it is his duty to fight in the Israeli army, something which offends his Arab in-laws, especially when one of their relatives in the West Bank is killed by Israeli Army fire. The significant idea raised in this novel is that both Alex and the Christian Arab families are outsiders in a different way: Alex because he was born and raised in Russia, and the Christian Arab family because they aren't "Jewish." In other words, Alex is integrated ideologically, even in his own mind, and the Christian Arabs family, integrated as they are natives of Haifa, and speak Hebrew fluently, and like the poems of Yehuda Amichai, but excluded from the ideological construction which defines the State of Israel.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great novel, August 31, 2003

By 

David Drori Dr (Rehovot, Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Trumpet in the Wadi (Hardcover)

The Editorial reviews do justice to the book; I can hardly elaborate... for me the best among Israeli authors today. Michael is a former commie in Iraq who has matured and wised up in the Israeli cauldron where Arabs and Jews are mortal enemies. The book will not pacify this bloodsoaked country but its readers will enjoy a well written bittersweet novel as good as the author's previous novel "Refuge" ("Hasut") also in English. "Trumpet..." is now also a good Israeli movie.