The Almond Tree

"As a first novel, I think Michelle Cohen Corasanti produced a wonderful story. Reading her online bio (http://thealmondtreebook.com/author/), I learned that it was a long process for her to refine her story spark into the final work she created. It is worthwhile to read that bio to better understand why she wrote the book, how she found the story elements and what she hopes to achieve through its publication.<br/><br/>Corasanti wrote the book as a first-person narrative of a Palestinian boy shortly after the formation of the Israeli state. We follow him through the years of his life, and quickly become invested in him and his family. We learn through him and his family that we may not get to choose the experiences that come to us, but each of us can choose how we respond to those experiences.<br/><br/>Corasanti did a great job developing the characters, and as I mentioned, I quickly became wrapped up in his life and times. She also did a good job of showing the humanity (both for good and bad) of all the sides involved in the complexities of Israel.<br/><br/>While Corasanti has an agenda in writing and promoting this book, she does not come across as didactic or contrived in the telling of the story. It is believable and authentic. I found the final third of the book a bit rushed in comparison to the first two thirds of the book, but it wasn't that much of a distraction.<br/><br/>I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good, fairly quick read, especially if one would like a better understanding of the Palestinian question through a fiction format. <br/><br/>I received this book through a First Reads contest. Thanks to Ms Corasanti for listing the title for the contest."