An unforgettable story, February 14, 2007 (Amazon.com)
By Pearl Crescent (Delmarva, USA)

I keep a journal and record in it much of what I read, because at 66 much of what I read is eminently forgettable, both by virtue of its lack of importance and due to my failing memory. But I will never forget this book.

“The Scar of David” gives a voice to the tragedy of a people whose own story has always been overshadowed by the looming darkness that is the Holocaust. I am unable to read it without a trememdous sadness. Susan Abulhawa’s book moved me to tears for many reasons. Since others have summarized the subject matter here, I will not, and say only that it is the story of the conflict in the Middle East and the Palestinian experience within it, from the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 to the present day. No tragedy has ever been narrated by a voice more genuine and believable.

I have read Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Eugene O’Neill and Faulkner, but never have I seen the eternal human tragedy more exquisitely rendered. Abulhawa makes us see that the things that unite us are far more numerous than the things that divide us. We all need and seek love, bear offspring and love them, seek to protect them and share their pain when they hurt. We all feel fear, we all feel grief. Our children all need to play and learn and grow into adults who will be the sum of all their experiences. We all need shelter, food and water, and a sense of continuity, of a shared past and a certain future.

If her prose is occasionally a little more florid than I would like, it is more than made up for with emotional authenticity. Reading this book is a penance and a revelation, and yes, everyone should read this book, but gird your loins before you do.