Module 6 - Novel by Naomi Shihab Nye - TWU - Multicultural Literature

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Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1997. HABIBI. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN 9780689801495.
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I had to really search to find a copy of this book. I have very much enjoyed the few books that I have read recently by Naomi Shihab Nye, and I wanted to read HABIBI. I searched in all of the libraries in my area and no one had a copy. I finally checked my Kindle, and I did find one there to download. I don't get graphics on my electronic bookreader, so I was surprised when I saw a copy of the cover that I was able to find on Amazon.com. My imagination is always so much different than book illustrators. I had the main character pictured much differently, and I liked my mental visual better than the one shown above. The story describes the main character with a long braid, and I pictured her with darker skin, eyes, and hair.

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This is an interesting story of an Arab American family that moves from the United States, back to the Palestinian area of Jerusalem. The father was originally from this Middle Eastern area, but he sought greener pastures, and so he immigrated to the United States, went to medical school, married and had children, and became a naturalized American citizen. The mother was born and raised in America, and so they raised their children in the St. Louis area as normal American kids. The father, Poppy, decided that before the kids got too old, he wanted the family to move back to Jerusalem so that they could learn his culture and heritage. Liyana is 14 and her brother is a couple of years younger. They make this difficult transition to Jerusalem which is still involved in Jewish and Arab Palestinian unrest. This story shows many of these tough situations and how it affects the family, as well as their extended Arab family, and their new friends. Liyana falls in love with a Jewish boy, which makes for a dangerous situation in a world where boys and girls cannot have any type of close relationship until they are ready to be married, and especially not have a romance between an Arab and a Jew.

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Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I got caught up in the family's transition from America to the Old City of Jerusalem. I was intrigued by their difficulty in learning to speak Arabic, buying groceries, conversing with the extended family members, schoolmates, shopkeepers, teachers, etc. Their new world is an extreme change from St. Louis, America. But, the kids even seemed to be more flexible and resilient than the parents at times. Poppy stressed about raising an American daughter in this culture, when she was already used to wearing short shorts and interested in making new friends, both girls and boys. In the story, he is also thrown into jail for helping a boy in the refugee camp, and he stresses about the constant violent political tensions surrounding him and his family. His wife, tries to make the best of this new living situation, but there are many clues in the story that she is homesick, as she searches for familiar foods, like mayonnaise and tuna. Liyana even finds a two-month old American ladies magazine on a rack, and purchases it for her mother, knowing that it will bring her some comfort.

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The father seemed to be the main one in the story struggling with his cultural identify. He called himself an Arab American which surprised his Arab family members. Liyana does a lot of self-discovery in the story, and she actually sees herself as more Arab than American. She had not really questioned it while in the U.S., but now she devotes a lot of time to pondering who she is and what makes her happy. She now sees herself as part of the peace process in this troubled part of the world.

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I believe Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet through and through, and even though this story is written in prose, there is poetry everywhere. Some of the beautiful thoughts are wonderfully wordcrafted throughout the story, and it just made me pause each time I read one. You just had to stop and ponder them before continuing on with the story. An example of this is in the "First Things Last chapter. Her own first things kept lasting longest in her brain, and in the "To the Village" chapter, Think of all the towns and cities we've never seen or imagined. The book is very well-written, and has a nice feel to it. There is so much love throughout the story, between family members, between friends, and in a budding romance between Liyana and Omer, that it reminds the reader that love can conquer all.

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My one big complaint about the book is that the political conflict seemed very one-sided in this story. It pounded away on the fact that Palestinians are very mistreated and abused in the Middle East, and that the Jews are bad, bad, bad, in every way. Many of the scenarios were based on Jews harassing Arabs in a variety of ways. Also mentioned several times, was the fact that the Jews had such a horrible time during the WWII era, that they should remember and now be more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Also, because America supports the Jews in Israel, and supply them with money and weapons, that the Palestinians are doomed to always be the underdog. I wished that these terrible conflicts could have been shown in a more well-rounded aspect, but I know that Ms. Nye is a Palestinian American, and she writes about what she knows and understands, so this is the story that she wants to tell.

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There are many, many cultural markers in this book, that help to explain the Palestinian Arab culture in this story. Liyana and her mother and brother were discovering much of it at the same time as the reader. When the family first arrived in Jerusalem, they wanted to go to their hotel and rest up before traveling to a nearby village to meet all of the extended family members. However, all of the Arab family showed up at the hotel and here is a bit of American culture meeting Arab culture all at once:

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Liyana had an impulse to stand very close to Poppy, for protection and also for translation, so he could keep her posted on what was being said. Tears poured down Sitti's (grandmother's) rugged cheeks. Suddenly she threw her head back, rolled her tongue high up in her mouth, and began trilling wildly. Liyana had never heard anything like it. Aunt Saba and Aunt Amal began clapping a rhythmic beat. Mom looked startled. Rafik raised his eyebrows.

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Poppy shook his head, waving both hands in Sitti's face to quiet her down. "That's her traditional cry," he explained. "She uses it as an announcement at weddings and --funerals."

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"Which one is this?" Liyana asked.

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Poppy spoke rapidly to Sitti in Arabic, but she didn't stop right away. She trilled and trilled and trilled. She shimmied her arms in the air like a Pentecostal preacher. The backs of her hands were tattooed with the dark blue shapes of flying birds. Liyana said, "Poppy! You never told us she had tattoos!"

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Poppy said, "I didn't want you to get any ideas."

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I can see American teenagers being completely undone by this whole scenario. It would be quite a scene. This is just the beginning of many cultural markers in this story, such as explanations of traditional food, clothing, music, poetry, politics, family relations, matchmaking, art, etc. Because of this, the reader goes away with a nice introduction and explanation of the Palestinian culture in this part of the world. It is interesting and gives the reader insight into a society that many American students are not at all familiar with.

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I would love to promote this book to my high school girls who are looking for something new and different. This is a great story by itself, "a girl meets boy," kind of story, but the setting is what makes it unique and special. I will do a booktalk on it to stir up interest, and after that I think word of mouth will contribute to its success for independent reading. A special book display featuring books by Naomi Shihab Nye is a must this year in my high school library. I am excited to promote her to the kids.

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From School Library Journal

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Grade 5-9. An important first novel from a distinguished anthologist and poet. When Liyana's doctor father, a native Palestinian, decides to move his contemporary Arab-American family back to Jerusalem from St. Louis, 14-year-old Liyana is unenthusiastic. Arriving in Jerusalem, the girl and her family are gathered in by their colorful, warmhearted Palestinian relatives and immersed in a culture where only tourists wear shorts and there is a prohibition against boy/girl relationships. When Liyana falls in love with Omer, a Jewish boy, she challenges family, culture, and tradition, but her homesickness fades. Constantly lurking in the background of the novel is violence between Palestinian and Jew. It builds from minor bureaucratic annoyances and humiliations, to the surprisingly shocking destruction of grandmother's bathroom by Israeli soldiers, to a bomb set off in a Jewish marketplace by Palestinians. It exacts a reprisal in which Liyana's friend is shot and her father jailed. Nye introduces readers to unforgettable characters. The setting is both sensory and tangible: from the grandmother's village to a Bedouin camp. Above all, there is Jerusalem itself, where ancient tensions seep out of cracks and Liyana explores the streets practicing her Arabic vocabulary. Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident. Habibi succeeds in making the hope for peace compellingly personal and concrete...as long as individual citizens like Liyana's grandmother Sitti can say, "I never lost my peace inside."