'The Almond Tree' author Michelle Cohen Corasanti speaks about her efforts, hopes, Israel and wars

Her first attempt at story telling has earned accolades all around the world, but Michelle Cohen Corasanti’s book The Almond Tree has not found many takers in the West Asia. The fanatics have panned it by calling it a biased take on Israel-Palestine conflict. Corasanti talks about her efforts, hopes, Israel and wars. Read on...

Books on wars are always difficult. How was it to write this book?
It was extremely difficult to write The Almond Tree because I had to relive the terrible days of witnessing the conflict which was extremely painful. I did massive amounts of research into areas which I didn’t have first-hand knowledge such as Gaza. At the same time, I felt such relief that I had finally found a way to share a side of the conflict that I had never known prior to living in Israel. By putting people in my shoes, I was able to show how profoundly what I saw, lived, and heard changed my view of the conflict.

You have lived in Israel for only seven years. You can claim that you have the clear picture of the conflict?
I spent the first twenty-three years of my life immersed in and being taught the Zionist narrative. While I lived in Israel, I had a front row seat to the conflict and was intimately connected to people on both sides. And I was married to a Palestinian for several years. For nearly a decade, I studied Middle Eastern studies as an undergraduate at Hebrew University and a graduate student at Harvard. Then I spent seven years writing and researching The Almond Tree. I have done all of this because I was so deeply affected by what I witnessed when I lived in Israel: The awful ways we treat others and the needless suffering we afflict. I have been haunted by what I saw and wanted to help bring about change. But I don’t think that you have to spend an entire life time in a place to know it.
 
What is the solution to Israel-Palestine issue according to you?
We have to understand that all human beings desire a peaceful existence in which a society can thrive and grow. This requires equal rights, citizenship and voting rights for every person. We need lasting peace that is based on truth and justice.

Your book seems more emotional than practical...
Fiction has the potential to move people in emotional ways, in a way that’s not always possible in non-fiction. Emotions reach the heart and hearts can move mountains. A good story can change the world. My book creates awareness. Awareness leads to understanding and understanding leads to change. President Obama said on his last visit to Jerusalem to an auditorium packed with Jewish Israelis that the conflict would not be resolved until they could put themselves in Palestinian shoes. Why? I think because he knows that creates empathy. No conflict is ever resolved by only looking at one’s own side.

Will you call it a window into the Israel problem?
It’s not for me to say, but I have tried to narrate a story and highlight issues faced by the Palestinians in a very neutral and objective manner. The human mind relates more to personal narratives than it does to facts. I leave it to my readers to decide if it is a window to the conflict.

But the book has been panned by many pro-Arab publications for being biased towards Jews...
I’m only aware of one Arab reviewer who panned the book and a few Zionists who panned it for being biased toward Palestinians. I honestly would not like to comment on them. Everyone is free to read the book and form his/her own opinions according to his/her own thinking. I would hope that people form their own opinions since my novel explores a subject that engenders different agendas.

Do you relate to the protagonist? or any other character?
I relate to all my characters. They are inspired by people who impressed me so greatly that they have resurfaced in the forms of my characters.

Are you planning a movie on it?
A few production companies have approached me and we are in talks. But nothing is finalised.