Kiriman Buku : Almond Tree

Author-Michele Cohen Corasanti

Beberapa hari yang lalu, saya mendapat kiriman buku dari luar negeri tepatnya dari UK. Ini adalah buku hadiah dari program 'Giveaway'  Goodreads.com. Sebenarnya saat ikut program bagi-bagi buku itu, saya bersikap nothing to lose aja, gak ada keinginan muluk-muluk untuk dapat hadiahnya. Tapi, selang dua minggu sejak apply pertama tentang buku yang diinginkan, saya dapat kabar kalau di rumah ada paket buku datang. Wow, rasanya kejutan sekali bisa mendapatkan buku yang diinginkan sekitar 200-an pembaca dari seluruh dunia. Saya merasa istimewa banget seakan bukan saya yang terpilih namun buku berjudul The Almond Tree lah yang memilih saya. Saya berjanji akan membacanya sampai tuntas. Sejauh ini saya belum begitu mengenal pengarangnya dan gaya penceritaannya. Mudah-mudahan saya mampu mencerna ceritanya karena kalau dilihat dari sinopsisnya, ceritanya fiksi namun ada kaitannya dengan negeri dan politik. Berikut sinopsisnya yang dipungut dari Goodread:

 Gifted with a mind that continues to impress the elders in his village, Ichmad Hamid struggles with the knowledge that he can do nothing to save his Palestinian friends and family. Ruled by the Israeli military government, the entire village operates in fear of losing homes, jobs, and belongings. But more importantly, they fear losing each other. On Ichmad's twelfth birthday, that fear becomes a reality. With his father imprisoned, his family's home and possessions confiscated, and his siblings quickly succumbing to the dangers of war, Ichmad begins the endless struggle to use his intellect to save his poor and dying family and reclaim a love for others that was lost when the bombs first hit."The Almond Tree" capitalizes on the reader's desire to be picked up and dropped off in another part of the world. It tackles issues that many Americans only hear about on World News or read about at The Huffington Post, such as the Israeli Palestinian conflict, the scholasticide that is being imposed upon the Palestinians in Gaza and the current Gaza blockade. But even more, it offers hope.