Once in a Promised Land

I bought another book last week. This time it was a novel by a woman (born in Lebanon to a Jordanian father and an

American mother), Laila Halaby, who is presumably Muslim (she has not denied being Muslim, nor has she affirmed it, however, her webpage hints at it: "I have always believed that if other people could see my world, could see a Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim family/person/story, from the inside, then they couldn’t have such ridiculous and negative stereotypes."). I was walking through my school's bookstore, on my way home, when I saw the book on a shelf, titled "Once in a Promised Land." The cover looked interesting, a man swimming in a pool, with the shadow of an airplane flying overhead next to him. When I got closer to the book, I noted the name. Arab. Whether she was Muslim or not, I was interested in the story she had to tell, so I looked at the book.

The setting: the first six or so months following 9/11. The protagonists: Muslims. Arabs, a Palestinian and a Jordanian. I read the biography of the author. This is her second book. Her first won the PEN/Beyond Margins award. I decided to buy the book, even though, honestly, I shouldn't be spending 23.95 on another book I may or may not read in a timely manner. When I pay, I notice the book was on sale. A pleasant surprise.

I have avoided all things, fiction or otherwise, related to 9/11. The truth is, 9/11 still scares me, hurts me. It feels like a wound that will never heal, because the circumstances that led up to the tragedies of 9/11 were so complicated. I try to stay away from the 9/11 conspiracy theories, but I firmly believe that the US government could have done something to prevent it. The consequences of 9/11 also sicken me. I am horribly saddened by the deaths of the innocent victims, and the wars we have waged in revenge of these deaths do not make me feel satisfied. It is quite the opposite, because the war on terror has been nothing but Americans terrorizing people in return. I can't condone our actions. The whole thing makes me feel outraged at my government. I am outraged because I know they could have done something to prevent it. I am outraged because of the wars. I am outraged because of the torture, the lies, the spying on citizens, the ridiculous, over-the-top Orwellian National Threat Advisory system. All of these things poor salt into my wound and I am unable to grieve for my country, because I don't feel safe from the government (well, that's another story for another day). But for some reason, I felt safe in Ms. Halaby's words. As if I could trust her to tell me another horrible story about 9/11 and I wouldn't feel violated or used.

Reading the book is very similar to looking at the wreckage of a train collision. All of these stories come together, they are interlaced and all equally tragic. They are Reminders of our fallibility, our dependence on God, the nature of suffering. But she also takes Americans out of their comfort zone. In the beginning of the book, she asks the reader to take every pre-conceived notion and judgment about Arabs and Muslims and to put them into a box, lock it, and hide it somewhere. Then she begins the story of Salwa and Jassim. Salwa is a Palestinian from Jordan, Jassim is a Jordanian. They are married, living in the desert of Arizona. Jassim a hydrologist, Salwa a banker and real estate agent. They are not what you could call religious. Jassim even tells us he is an atheist, but Salwa seems never to lose her awareness of God.

After 9/11, their lives quickly turn upside down. A series of tragedies affects them. One lie leads to another Lie. They lose themselves and each other in the suffering, and in the prejudice they face everyday. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down, but sometimes the pain was intolerable, and I had to stop reading, gather my thoughts and remember it was fiction. I finished the whole book over the past two days, but actually it is fairly short, and if I had a higher tolerance for pain, I'm sure I could have finished it in one day.

Overall, the intricate tales Ms. Halaby tells are entrancing. The ending is rather abrupt, and does a small disservice to her characters. And, from time to time, her prose is a bit dry. But she does an excellent job contrasting cultures, highlighting similarities, advantages, disadvantages, and of course, human suffering. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read. I give it 4/5 stars.