Summary of Sandy Tolan's The Lemon Tree

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview:

#1 In July of 1967, Bashir Khairi and his cousins left Ramallah and arrived in East Jerusalem. They had asked their friends and neighbors how to navigate the new Israeli reality. Which bus should they take. How much is a ticket. How do they buy tickets. Will anyone check their papers if they board a bus.

#2 The young woman sat alone at the kitchen table. Sunlight streamed in through the south-facing windows of the stone house. The air raid sirens had finally fallen silent, and life in Dalia’s hometown of Ramla seemed to have returned to normal.

#3 The bus driver downshifted to descend the hills west of Jerusalem. Bashir was unsure if he wanted the trip to go quickly or slowly. If it went quickly, he would be in al-Ramla sooner; but if time slowed down, he could more fully take in each bend, each landmark, and each piece of his own history.

#4 Dalia, as a child, had wondered why the Arabs would willingly leave such a beautiful house. As she got older, she realized that the Arabs had fled like cowards, with their hot soup still steaming on the table.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669375081

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Sandy Tolan's The Lemon Tree

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In July of 1967, Bashir Khairi and his cousins left Ramallah and arrived in East Jerusalem. They had asked their friends and neighbors how to navigate the new Israeli reality. Which bus should they take. How much is a ticket. How do they buy tickets. Will anyone check their papers if they board a bus.

#2

The young woman sat alone at the kitchen table. Sunlight streamed in through the south-facing windows of the stone house. The air raid sirens had finally fallen silent, and life in Dalia’s hometown of Ramla seemed to have returned to normal.

#3

The bus driver downshifted to descend the hills west of Jerusalem. Bashir was unsure if he wanted the trip to go quickly or slowly. If it went quickly, he would be in al-Ramla sooner; but if time slowed down, he could more fully take in each bend, each landmark, and each piece of his own history.

#4

Dalia, as a child, had wondered why the Arabs would willingly leave such a beautiful house. As she got older, she realized that the Arabs had fled like cowards, with their hot soup still steaming on the table.

#5

The three men emerged from the bus into a hot, glaring world that was at once bizarre and familiar. They walked towards Yasser’s house, and as they got closer, they realized it was the house they used to play in as children.

#6

After the funeral, Bashir and his cousins went to visit Yasser's house. They couldn't remember where it was, so they walked in circles in the heat. Eventually, Bashir found the house.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

In 1936, Ahmad Khairi was building a house in al-Ramla, an Arab town on the coastal plain between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean. The soil was good here, and the Khairis grew hundreds of tons of barley, wheat, cabbage, cucumber, tomato, figs, grapes, and melons.

#2

The British had arrived in 1917, and had authorized a Jewish agency to help develop public works, utilities, and natural resources in Palestine. In recent years, Jewish immigration to Palestine had driven the Arabs and the British further apart.

#3

Al-Ramla was a town in Palestine that was founded in 715 AD