Wild thorns

A young Palestinian named Usama returns to his homeland after several years working in the Gulf. Now an operative in the resistance movement, his mission is to blow up buses transporting Palestinian workers into Israel.

But Palestine and its people are not as Usama remembered them. He is shocked to discover that many of his fellow countrymen have adjusted to life under military control. Despite mounting unease, Usama sets out to accomplish his objective … with disastrous consequences.

First published in Palestine in 1976, Wild Thorns was the first Arab novel to offer a glimpse of everyday life under Israeli occupation. With uncompromising honesty, Khalifeh pleads elegantly for survival in the face of oppression.