Miral by Rula Jebreal - Bookclub Book
For the month of March, we read Miral by Rula Jebreal. Since we weren't able to meet up in person to discuss the book, we'll be leaving our thoughts on the blog. Here are some discussion questions to help the dialog along:- On page 8, Hind reminisces about the opening of the school and "how bare the spot had been before the school was established." What role does the school play in the story? What does it symbolize?
- Do you fault Nadia for fleeing from her family and new stepfather? Did she make the right decision to leave her sisters? Did she have a choice?
- The novel is divided into sections centered on a particular character. What effect do you think the structure has on the story?
- Jerusalem is "a city divided in two" (19), "rooted in soil drenched with innocent blood" (9) but with "minarets and steeples jutting into the sky" (9). Consider the contrasts in the novel—the images of terror combined with the images of hope. What do you make of the contrast between the Old City and West Jerusalem? Do the characters in the novel believe they can coexist? Do you?
- Compare and contrast Hind and Miral. How are the two alike? How are they different? Does Miral's rebellious nature and desire for justice seem similar to or different from Hind's? Are they fighting for the same cause?
- Discuss the idea of solitude in the novel; how does solitude shape the lives of the characters? Consider Hind, Nadia, Jamal, Hani, and Miral's different lives.
- What is Hani's influence on Miral's life?
- While living at Dar El-Tifel, Miral loses a pair of classmates to the violent struggle, Aziza and Sahar. She reveals on page 118 "her sense that the world outside was a horrible place." How do these two stories inform the novel? How did they affect Miral's personal decisions in their aftermath?
- What did you make of Samer and Lisa's relationship? What did Miral seem to take away from seeing the two of them together?
- Revisit the torture scene on page 226. Did the brutality surprise you? What moment was most memorable in this scene? How did this experience affect Miral?
- When Miral sees Hani for the last time, he shares his vision for the future and his ideas about peace with her. "This road is too bloody, it has no exit… we can't go on fighting forever" (288). Considering Miral's decision at the end of the novel, and the events that have taken place in Palestine and Israel since the Oslo Accords, what do you take away from the novel?
For the month of March, we read Miral by Rula Jebreal. Since we weren't able to meet up in person to discuss the book, we'll be leaving our thoughts on the blog. Here are some discussion questions to help the dialog along:
3 comments:
Overall, I thought the novel was good, but the general set up of the novel bothered me. Having each chapter give a different person's story was really interesting to me, but I felt more often than not that just when I wanted to learn more, the novel would shift to another time and another person's life. There was also the fact that Hind Husseini (the woman who builds the orphanage) isn't as strong a force in the narrative as I thought she would be based on the first chapters, but then again, I can understand the necessity to set up the world and the players in which Miral has descended from.
While I know I should have been more connected to Miral's story, I found the story of her mother so much more engaging and ultimately heartbreaking when she comes to her end. It was tragic, but at the same time I could understand her pain and the struggle with herself that she could never get past.
I don't know if anyone else felt this way, but it was hard for me to figure out if this was a fiction or non-fiction narrative. The author herself grew up in an orphanage and lived in the same circumstances as Miral. However, I'm not sure that she went as far as Miral did in her convictions. I suppose it doesn't matter either way, but I'd still like to know.
As a side note (and why the picture in the post isn't the one from the book), this novel has been made into a film starring Freida Pinto (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) and directed by Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and opens on March 25th. Should we all make a date to see it together?
Tiffany, I agree with your sentiments about the book. When I first read about the book in Vogue, I was really excited to read Rula Jebreal's story. The interview with Jebreal in Vogue led me to think that the book told her story. After reading Miral (and a few articles about the movie), I understand that the book is fiction but based on Jebreal's experience growing up in an orphanage.
I recommended this book because I was curious about reading about the Israel-Palestine conflict from a Palestinian perspective. I've read plenty of articles from the Israeli perspective and some of my relatives live in the West Bank--so I'm more familiar with those experiences. I felt that Jebreal put forth a fairly balanced picture of Israeli and Palestinian life: there are radicals on both sides of the conflict and there are also people just trying to live their lives. While the book focused mostly on the Palestinian experience, it recognized that Israelis also had challenges. Unfortunately, according to the articles I've read about the movie, it does not share the challenges on both sides of the conflict.
Like Tiffany, I felt less engaged by Miral's story that by those around her. Nadia was a very interesting character and I would have liked to learn more. Maybe that will be Jebreal's next book?
And I am in for seeing the movie. That way I can form my own opinions!
It has been interesting to learn that Rula Jebreal's background is as a journalist. I found the novel very "journalistic." It presented the story in a matter-fact way and, though, each character had their own section, I felt they lacked color and depth. Like both of you mentioned, I didn't really feel I got to know or connect with Miral that well or, even, with some of the other characters.
That said, I appreciated how the story was told through different characters' points of views. Usually, when I hear or read about the Palestinian-Isreali conflict, it's a one-sided argument, rarely focused on the people who are actually living in those regions.
I appreciated that the book gave a little glimpse of the lives of people who have been part of this situation and the different experiences they've had. It has opened my eyes to how intertwined the groups of people have been and still are. In a way, I think the book shows that it's important to look at the conflict from multiple perspectives---and to think about the issues that individuals of both sides have had to struggle with all these years.
I'd like to see the movie. I wonder if it will be more or less balanced than the book. Also, I wonder how or whether it'll flesh out the different characters' stories.
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