The Poinciana Tree

"Shinora, the protagonist of the novel, wanders through the lines, places, and times, catching scents and making the reader feel the texture of his bare feet on the grass, hear the sound of raindrops atop the corrugated zinc roof, and feel the heat, the taste of oranges, and the sting of mosquitoes. It is the writer Ahlam Bsharat, in the name of Shinora, writing to us in miniature details about scenes from her childhood while living in the Palestinian Jordan Valley (Al-Aghwar). She conveys to us an image of the Valley, the family, and poverty. It is a memoir told in a different way, presented to young adults like a memory film narrating an archive of images that remained stuck in the mind without being sequential as we are accustomed to. It is the biography of the Poinciana tree, the icon and metaphor of the place, and what remains of the author's memory, standing witness until now to her life story. Shinora: the writer, the politician, the dreamer, the contemplative, the mischievous, the philosopher, the sad, and the happy. It is the story of many girls who dreamed of being fashion designers and became writers about trees. It is the story of the place that became empty."