On 2010-03-15 John P. Jones III, Albuquerque, NM, USA wrote: Imagine, if you will, an anthology of stories that would be read in our schools on the subject of dispossession. The stories would express the fate of various peoples who have been uprooted by ´political forces,´ be they ideological, or racial, or most likely both. These are the justification for the stronger removing the land, livelihood, and the very lives themselves of those who have been cast in a weaker position by fate. All of the stories in this slim collection would merit inclusion, but I would select in particular ´The Land of Sad Oranges,´ which is surely only a thinly disguised autobiographical story of Kanafani´s own exile, when he was forced to leave his home in northern Palestine, and seek refuge in Sidon, Lebanon, when he was 12 years old, in 1948. And yes, couple this story with ´The Diary of Ann Frank.´ Both are told by the person to whom the dispossession happened, and these could be coupled to stories about the fate of others who left no written record, and thus would have to be recreated by others; these other stories could include the Navajos who were driven out of the Canyon de Chelly in 1864 by Kit Carson, as well as the ethnic tribes (the ´Montangards´) of the highlands of Vietnam who lost their homes to the lowland Vietnamese. And that is only a sampling; the list is long.
There are a number of excellent reviews already posted, including by one who lead me to this book - RM Peterson. Thus, I don´t want to duplicate, but rather augment what they said. The longest story lends its name to the book´s title, and concerns the fate of three men, as well as the smuggler himself, in their efforts to reach the ´promised land´ of Kuwait. Kanafani is a master story-teller; the literary tension remains high throughout. In terms of technique, I found the juxtapositions of two stories, often within the same paragraph, united by a common theme, for example, rats, most powerful. The style reminded me of Sartre´s trilogy, ´Roads to Freedom,´ where the same technique was utilized. In the background, stated in a low-key manner is the central dynamic that has propelled these people to their fate, the ´nakba,´ (the catastrophe), when the Palestinians lost their homeland in ´48 (though Kanafani avoids specific reference to that term). The loss of a young girl´s leg in the bombardment of Jaffa in that year was the propelling force that led to a young boy of 16 riding in an empty water truck in the month of August, in the Arabian Desert. In fighting at the same time, the smuggler was emasculated, and Kanafani brilliantly, and with bitter irony, uses this as a key determinant in the fate of the men he is smuggling.
In addition to the two above, there are five other short stories, none more than 10 pages long. The final one helps explain the super-human determination of some Palestinians not to join their relatives in the Diaspora, but rather to cling all too stubbornly to the scraps of land and life that they have left.
Kanafani was ´taken´ from us far too young, along with his young niece, who will always be just so much ´collateral damage.´ He was killed by terrorists, who may only be brought to justice ´in the next world.´ The year was 1972, when Ghassan Kanafani was 36 years old. An excellent 5-star read.
. And summed up by saying Dispossession.... Currently Men in the Sun, and Other Palestinian Stories (Arab Authors; 11) has an overall rating of 10 over 10.
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