From Library Journal
Episodic and plainly narrated, this memoir of 1920s Bethlehem and Jerusalem draws the American reader into the ordinariness of an exotic world and the universal enchantments and disenchantments of childhood. Young Jabra is a middle child of a poor, spirited Christian family who move frequently as he fills the "first well" of childhood with play, mischief, a blossoming love of learning, and a hint of adult sorrow. He lives among memorable teachers and neighbors, including the crippled teenager Naoom, devotee of games and sideshows, and admired visitor Miquel, who shocks the neighborhood with sudden violence. Most affecting is Jabra's father, ailing from Parkinson's disease yet tenacious and devoted enough to chase a runaway tire, dropped by his son, down an impressively long valley. Jabra, who died in 1994, wrote extensively in various literary genres and criticism; portions of his work have been translated into English. A suitable purchase wherever there is an interest in Arabic life and literature.?Janet Ingraham, Worthington P.L., Ohio
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