(Excerpts)
Recent world events have contributed to making Sulha an even more compelling read and certainly, a relevant one.
Sulha is really quite a book. It’s subject matter is unusual, even though its theme is a popular one; the search for self. Its writing is very lyrical, at times. Its subject matter is exotic. Its plot and sub-plots aren’t run-of-the-mill.
For a first novel, Sulha is a remarkable accomplishment. Remember, English is Malka Marom’s second language and yet she has written a book that is evocative, captivating in parts, lyrical in parts, like a desert ballad or a desert lament… a lament for what happened to “The Dream” – of Israel being “a light unto the nations,”… a lament for the Badouin way of life being subsumed by the lure of modernization.
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Marom hired a tutor and studied Arabic for three months before she accepted the Bedouins invitation to be their guest for as long as she wished. From her desert experiences came the award-winning documentaries The Bedouins, and Desert Diaries. [She also made an 8-hour documentary on the American Dream entitled A Bite of the Big Apple, and two other award winners: My Jerusalem and The Holocaust.] And from her desert experiences came SULHA, a book that took Marom ten years to write.
It is Marom’s descriptions of the desert and the Badu’s existence that give Sulha its power.
Sulha is about returning to one’s roots, to what is fundamental. Leora (the novel’s protagonist) returns to the Sinai to—as she says—“reclaim the woman buried in the rubble of widowhood”. To find herself, basically.
For a first novel, Sulha is a remarkable accomplishment. Remember, English is Malka Marom’s second language and yet she has written a book that is evocative, captivating in parts, lyrical in parts, like a desert ballad or a desert lament. Its strength lies in its description of Badawia life, through its three main Bedouin characters. The most enigmatic of them is Imsallam Suleman Abu Salim—master of the tents, commanding, regal, dignified, intimidating. How can you not be fascinated with this man? The other two main colourful characters are Abu Salim’s wives, the elder Azzizah, and the young girl-wife, Tammam.
Although the elder and the younger women are co-wives, there appears to be no rivalry between them. In fact, Azzizah and Tammam seem to be allies, with a deep love and respect for each other.
SULHA’s lyricism makes me think of it as a desert ballad or a desert lament. It’s a lament for what happened to “The Dream”. The dream of Israel being a light unto the nations, Marom has said, has turned into the bitter reality of horrendous wars that continue to claim so many lives. It’s a lament for ex-patriot Israelis who feel the guilt of having left The Land and the disdain of Israelis back home. It’s a lament for the Badu way of life being subsumed by the lure of modernization.