"My Cousin kills a man and I carry off his daughter. Tragedy or farce?" - Taken from Sahar Khaliefh's Wild Thorns

The first time I read Wild Thorns, I didn't fully understand the character development or the little side plots that were going on throughout the novel. After reading it again, I feel much more comfortable discussing it and interpreting it.

I thought this was a pretty difficult read. There were so many characters to remember, and trying to keep the on-going stories in check was also pretty difficult. Sometimes I would get a page or two into a chapter thinking I was going to be reading about one person, but then finding that I was actually reading the story of another one of the characters. Even the first time I read this I had to reread a couple pages several times in order to fully understand the plot and characters.

My parents always used to watch the news at dinnertime, and I used to hate it. I wanted to watch Nickelodeon instead, but they weren't having that. Almost all the news I saw in regards to Israel and Palestine was a pro-Israel version of the news, and I can't say that I remember a single report done to represent Palestine or it's people that would make them proud. Coming to college and becoming a political science major, I realized during my freshman year that the situation was of course not so easy, and now reading these books I find myself more and more uneasy about the situation.

I watch the news today, and I feel like it's all the same. Israel has nuclear weapons, but it's okay, they're Israel. Iran (or any other nation in the Middle East) with nuclear weapons? That would be a catastrophic mistake! Nuclear weapons are bad!

"First, how many nuclear weapons does the US possess? "The U.S. nuclear arsenal today includes 5,400 warheads loaded on intercontinental ballistic missiles at land and sea; an additional 1,750 nuclear bombs and cruise missiles ready to be launched from B-2 and B-52 bombers; a further 1,670 nuclear weapons classified as “tactical.” And just in case, an additional 10,000 or so nuclear warheads held in bunkers around the United States as a “hedge” against future surprises." (from Newsweek, a popular US news magazine; June 25, 2001)" - http://www.peaceheroes.com/usisdevelopingnewnukes.htm

Sigh.

The persecution and punishment that some Israelis forced upon Palestinians within this novel was very much an eye-opener to me. I hope it was to others as well. I know I can't be the only person with a pre-conceived Western bias in this class.

I'm going to stop watching the news.