Let it be Morning - Sayed Kashua

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Older Teens

We take a lot of things for granted in the United States. Nearly everybody has electricity and running water. Despite the turbulent state of American politics our government is a rather stable entity. We do not see soldiers walking through our streets. While there are certainly poor people in our country, for the most part the poverty they face is not as extreme as that seen in other parts of the world. Generally speaking Americans are not desperate for the essentials of life: food, shelter and safety.

Let it be Morning tells the story of an Arab journalist living in Israel. For the past ten years he had been living with his wife in an Israeli city. Because of the changing political and social climate he decides they should move back to the Arab village where he grew up. Shortly after their return the village is closed off by the Israeli military - the electricity and water are shut off and no one is allowed to enter or leave. Over the course of just a few days the conditions within the village deteriorate rapidly - people run out of food and water and desperation sinks into the village. This book is a frightening look at what happens to people when they get truly desperate - a type of desperation that is hard for the average American to imagine.

This book didn't really do much for me. I'm not exactly sure why. It might be that I found the pace very slow. This may be due to the fact that this book was originally written in Hebrew then translated into English. It may also be that I am not very knowledgeable about the history and details of the Israeli-Arab conflict. There were a few parts where I was emotionally pulled into the story but by and large I found it a very dry read. I would have a very hard time recommending this book to the kids in my neck of the woods - unfortunately I think that the political undertones of this book would be lost on most of them and they would have a difficult time empathizing with the characters. If I lived in a different, more diverse area I may recommend this to older high school students, particularly to those of Arab or Israeli descent. They may have a connection to this story that makes it more enjoyable for them.