Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories Paperback – November 1, 1998

I've had this page open all day, and I still don't know how to start.I don't know what to say about this book that hasn't already been said. I don't how to describe this book in ways different than the ways it's already been described.This book is personal to me, so very personal, because I am a Palestinian, born and raised in the United Arab Emirates. I am a Palestinian, who only stepped foot in Palestine only once in my life - a year ago. I am a Palestinian, who was born to Palestinian parents, who have never been to Palestine. I am a Palestinian, whose grandparents fled Palestine in 1948 - the year of the Nakba. In fact, my mother's family lived and grew up in Kuwait. So, Men in the Sun, specifically, was a story that touched me deeply. It was a story that broke my heart, because I may have found a home away from home, but many others haven't. Men in the Sun clearly and bluntly describes that horrible journey that many people have taken or attempted to take in their efforts to try and find a better life for them and their families.This was my first Ghassan Kanafani read, and I was told that it would hurt to read this, and it did. The brilliance of Kanafani's work is that it never points a finger at one particular villain. It's implied, but it's never spoken plainly. Instead, he shows you different aspects of the struggle that Palestinians go through. Struggles that they've experienced, and still experience, in the Arab world. He shows you - probably from his own personal experience - how other Arabs treat Palestinians.Of all the stories, Men in the Sun hurt the most. The ending was brutal and it hits you so hard. You know things aren't going to end well, but it still jolts you to see HOW and WHY things end the way they do. The silliness of the entire situation, the absolute ridiculousness of men, their conversations, their play at authority and power. The irony of how one man's literal emasculation is actually the reason that a delay occurs at the border crossing, which becomes the reason for the demise of three men. You cannot be sure how to feel about this man, whether to blame him or not, as he seems genuinely saddened, but at the same time, his only concern is money and does not shy away from stealing their possessions after their deaths.The last paragraph in which he asks a question that we all thought to ask was probably the most powerful, "The thought slipped from his mind and ran onto his tongue: "Why didn't they knock on the sides of the tank?" He turned right round once, but he was afraid he would fall, so he climbed into his seat and leaned his head on the wheel. "Why didn't you knock on the sides of the tank? Why didn't you say anything? Why? - The desert suddenly began to send back the echo: "Why didn't you knock on the sides of the tank? Why didn't you knock on the sides of the tank? Why? Why? Why?"The other stories are just as powerful, and talk about refugees who have already left Palestine and how that has impacted them. The last story is the only one different from the rest. While all stories talk about Palestinians leaving Palestine, A Letter From Gaza tells the story of a young man who returns to Gaza to visit his family, but then decides to stay there and not go back to Kuwait where he has a job that could lead him to California, the land of freedom and opportunity. It is written in the form of a letter to a friend, as he tells him that he has decided not to meet him in Sacramento after all. That he has decided to remain in Gaza with his family, that his true place is there, at home.Beautifully written, beautiful story-telling, this book is a must-read and a reminder to all Palestinians that we should not stop knocking on the sides of the tank. That we should continue to make noise. To not forget.

Imagine, if you will, an anthology of stories that would be read in our schools on the subject of dispossession. The stories would express the fate of various peoples who have been uprooted by "political forces," be they ideological, or racial, or most likely both. These are the justification for the stronger removing the land, livelihood, and the very lives themselves of those who have been cast in a weaker position by fate. All of the stories in this slim collection would merit inclusion, but I would select in particular "The Land of Sad Oranges," which is surely only a thinly disguised autobiographical story of Kanafani's own exile, when he was forced to leave his home in northern Palestine, and seek refuge in Sidon, Lebanon, when he was 12 years old, in 1948. And yes, couple this story with "The Diary of Ann Frank." Both are told by the person to whom the dispossession happened, and these could be coupled to stories about the fate of others who left no written record, and thus would have to be recreated by others; these other stories could include the Navajos who were driven out of the Canyon de Chelly in 1864 by Kit Carson, as well as the ethnic tribes (the "Montangards") of the highlands of Vietnam who lost their homes to the lowland Vietnamese. And that is only a sampling; the list is long.There are a number of excellent reviews already posted, including by one who lead me to this book - RM Peterson. Thus, I don't want to duplicate, but rather augment what they said. The longest story lends its name to the book's title, and concerns the fate of three men, as well as the smuggler himself, in their efforts to reach the "promised land" of Kuwait. Kanafani is a master story-teller; the literary tension remains high throughout. In terms of technique, I found the juxtapositions of two stories, often within the same paragraph, united by a common theme, for example, rats, most powerful. The style reminded me of Sartre's trilogy, "Roads to Freedom," where the same technique was utilized. In the background, stated in a low-key manner is the central dynamic that has propelled these people to their fate, the "nakba," (the catastrophe), when the Palestinians lost their homeland in '48 (though Kanafani avoids specific reference to that term). The loss of a young girl's leg in the bombardment of Jaffa in that year was the propelling force that led to a young boy of 16 riding in an empty water truck in the month of August, in the Arabian Desert. In fighting at the same time, the smuggler was emasculated, and Kanafani brilliantly, and with bitter irony, uses this as a key determinant in the fate of the men he is smuggling.In addition to the two above, there are five other short stories, none more than 10 pages long. The final one helps explain the super-human determination of some Palestinians not to join their relatives in the Diaspora, but rather to cling all too stubbornly to the scraps of land and life that they have left.Kanafani was "taken" from us far too young, along with his young niece, who will always be just so much "collateral damage." He was killed by terrorists, who may only be brought to justice "in the next world." The year was 1972, when Ghassan Kanafani was 36 years old. An excellent 5-star read.

The tale is a sad one. I wouldn't say this is the best translation of the story but you can follow along with it and it does convey the story well. I hope one day that they can travel freely and not face such hardships.