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The stories of Dalia and Bashir and what becomes of the house with the lemon tree are gripping, and Tolan fills in historical detail without bogging down readers or losing sight of the bigger picture. Tolan also manages to maintain an impartial tone throughout the book.
- Let evening come by Deb Baker
Tolan skillfully weaves significant historical and political events, from the first intifada to Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, into the personal context of Dalia and Bashir’s families. This makes for compelling reading throughout.
- The Book of Mev by Mark Chmiel
poignant…an amazing story
If you want to know more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book is a great place to start. It weaves history and politics into a narrative that makes the reader care about the people involved….If you read only one non-fiction book this year, make it “The Lemon Tree.”
- A Texas Lutheran’s Voice for Mideast Peace
The strength of this book lies in the meticulous telling of the feelings and the histories….In the paperback edition, 264 of the 362 pages constitute the narrative while the remaining third contains a bibliography, source notes and an index. …No longer do I feel totally ignorant about why Palestinians are so angry. Thanks to Sandy Tolan, I get it.
One of the incontestable virtues of this remarkable book is that Tolan enters fully sympathetically into the lives of two people, with completely different philosophies, who are the moving forces in the book.
“…phenomenal… I had no idea how much I didn’t know until I listened to this [audio book]. Highly recommended.”
“This is a magnificent book. Unflinching, unsentimental, even brutal at times – but also tremendously uplifting.”
“This is a story of compassion, grief and hope. Reading this book has moved me deeply and I wish that there would be more Dahlias and Bashirs to heal the wounds of hatred.”
- Bookends: Book reviews from the Colorado College Library
“…a razor-sharp insight into the minds and hearts of people we have learned to hate but who we ought to understand, because they’re really us, looking back in a mirror.”
“The Lemon Tree is a brave book… an excellent primer on the vagaries of the Israel/Palestine conflict. I recommend it to any and all.”
“… In a time during which the conflict is reaching a head yet again, I finally find myself able to read the headlines and finally understand what is going on. For anyone else seeking some education in this regard, I HIGHLY recommend this book.”
“it’s easy to lose hope… Then along comes Sandy Tolan’s new book, The Lemon Tree, and offers just a glimmer of possibility.”
“I would recommend The Lemon Tree to everyone looking for a taste of history and reality in the Middle East… It indeed occupies the top spot on my list for books about Israel/Palestine.
The story is compelling enough on its own, but Tolan interjects history throughout that I found illuminating and helpful.
…After reading The Lemon Tree I have a far greater grasp on the history of the conflict and the viewpoints of both sides. … highly informative and very, very sad…, if you’ve ever wanted a broader background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I highly recommend the book.”
“… we get to know quite personally two people (Bashir and Dahlia) who are both caught up in the conflict, but who are also active agents in trying to further their respective causes…We aren’t talking about abstract principles or faceless groups, we are talking about two individuals who claim the same piece of land as their home… I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.”
The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan…True, tragic and calculated to make the most apathetic person realize a need to engage in more solidarity work and not to keep being fobbed off by those who say “ah but you see it’s too complex ”