"From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean."

"...From forth the fatal loins fo these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life..."

-William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is one of my least favorite plays written by Shakespeare, and it is not the best comparison for the book, The Palestinian Lover, by Selim Nassib. But many often remark that Shakespeare's plays are templates for stories both fiction and real. Although as the title suggests, the story is about a love affair between a Palestinian banker and Golda Meir, fourth prime minister of Israel and one of its founders, the story is inextricably tangled with the volatile political changes in the vestiges of the Ottoman Empire, Palestine, and the rise of Zionism in the region.

The novel opens with Golda in a kibbutz in 1923, established by Zionists in Palestine following the Balfour Declaration of 1917. As each political group (the British, the Zionists, and the Arabs) adds to the turmoil of Palestine, Albert Pharaon and Golda cross paths and are inexplicably drawn to one another in a forbidden, torrid affair. As the affair draws both Albert and Golda closer, outside events pull Golda away. (Albert prefers to remain distant from political machinations and arguments, although his character offers level observations when provoked.)

The novel is certainly a "page-turner," between the fast paced romance and developing political fury the reader is torn between the curious love between two "opposites," and instability surrounding the two lovers.

Perhaps a better comparison would be Graham Greene's The Quiet American. The dynamics of Greene's novel are different. Both novels put the characters in the middle of political unrest, and it is through the characters that the authors shed light and a degree of truth on the political situation facing the characters. Greene's characters, Fowler and Pyle, are both in love with the same Vietnamese woman, and while the plot is superficially about how both men maneuvre to win her, critics suggest it is a transparent veil for Greene to criticize America's early involvement in Vietnam.

Nassib's novel is less philosophical. Through the characters of Golda and the wealthy Palestinian, Albert, Nassib personalizes the conflict of the region. This is why the novel is important. He gives the developing historical anger in the background as Albert and Golda forgo words and fall into an impossible relationship. While the relationship depicted between the Palestinian and Golda is deemed by many to be nothing more than a rumor, Nassib provides the reader a better understanding of the factions and the upheavals that created the conflicts Palestine continues to see today.

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