The Wild Date Palm
It’s a rare experience when you encounter an historical novel that not only sweeps you away with a magnificent, stirring tale full of engaging characters but also enlightens you about historical events that form the background to current strife in our modern world. Primarily set in Palestine, it covers the period 1910 to 1917.
Shoshana, Leah and Nathan are siblings in a pioneering Jewish family in the town of Zichron Ya’akov, founded by Baron de Rothschild. Nathan is a botanist with an international reputation. The sisters are expected to follow the usual pattern for women and make good marriages, but world affairs and the fates will set them on divergent paths. Both sisters are in love with the exuberant Eli but it is Shoshana who will become his soulmate and share a remarkable destiny with him.
As World War I reaches towards the Middle East, Shoshana, Nathan, Eli and a cabal of other young Jews see an opportunity to involve Britain in ultimately defeating the oppressive rule of the Ottoman Turks. They embark on dangerous spying activities but are constantly frustrated by difficulties in being taken seriously by the British authorities, even with the help of T.E. Lawrence [of Arabia]. They must overcome innumerable wartime blocks in logistics, transport and communication, and when at last action is imminent, the Turkish net closes in with inevitable tragic consequences.
This superb and elegant novel grapples with profound human emotions and amazing courage in the face of impossible odds and seemingly irreconcilable conflicts. Inspired by a true story, the settings are rich, the research is impeccable, and it is highly recommended reading for anyone who is unsure of the blighted history of Israel and Palestine but would like to discover more in an accessible way through fiction.
