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| Daniella Carmi |
The Explosion on Ahalan Street |
| Children |
Jerusalem, Keter, 1985.
135 pp. Ages 10-14
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Who caused the explosion in Ahalan Street? The police have no clues and no witnesses. The newspapers have some theories but nothing to justify the daily discussions of the street in the press. Meanwhile, Samir Marouan is in jail. This is the bleak story of 12-year-old Natasha Marouan, whose Jewish mother and Arab father struggle to protect the love and unity that keep their small family together in the face of social prejudice and bigotry.
Now their world is torn apart. Natasha`s mother is rejected by one lawyer after another and Natasha herself is snubbed by her neighbors. When Samir Marouan is finally released, Natasha understands that justice won`t easily mend the broken pieces of her home. Natasha describes her father`s imprisonment with a puzzled innocence that is heartbreaking. In fact, Natasha is Daniella Carmi`s greatest success in this book, and her voice continues to sound long after readers have put the book down.
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About the Book
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The Explosion on Ahalan Street has been placed on the Ministry of Education`s list of recommended reading and has been adapted for children`s theater. "The child discovers exclusion and compassion, incomprehension and love. Daniella Carmi attacks the difficult subject of the coexistence between Jews and Arabs with great sensitivity," writes Le Nouveau Politis. Neu Octobre 93 seconds: "In The Explosion on Ahalan Street, the anguish of this adolescent is expressed with astonishing authenticity and restraint. The situation is described without embellishment. An excellent and powerful book."
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