Review: Sahar Khalifeh’s ‘Wild Thorns’ shines a light on the West Bank  

CHICAGO: Originally published in 1976 and re-released nearly fifty years later in 2023, Palestinian author Sahar Khalifeh shines a light on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in her third novel, “Wild Thorns.” With a new forward written by Pakistani novelist and journalist Mohammed Hanif, the novel chronicles the lives of Khalifeh’s characters Usama, Adil, Nuwar, Zudhi and Abu Shamir, who live under occupation but continue to survive. Translated into English by Trevor LeGassick and Elizabeth Fernea, Khalifeh’s novel humanizes the tragedy of occupation.