Wild Thorns

Recommended by Imani Perry, Henry A. Morss Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies; Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor, Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Sahar Khalifeh’s “Wild Thorns” is “one of the most emotionally and politically complex depictions” of Palestinian life in the West Bank, according to Perry. It’s a book she says she has returned to multiple times.

The narrative follows a young Palestinian and his support for the resistance movement. It was one of the first Arab novels that looked unflinchingly at the ongoing sociopolitical instability in this part of the Middle East.

“It is tender and intimate, particularly in depicting moments of contact between Israelis and Palestinians and between Palestinians of varying social classes,” Perry said.