By Eshaan Mani

Living an ordinary life in a nation at war is not easy...to say the least. Add to that the members of your family breaking away to the join revolutionary Jihadi forces and an incomplete romance (also thanks to war), and you end up in the unique situation of Nidal, the protagonist of Dr. Sahar Khalifeh’s “My First and Only Love.”

 

When Nidal, an exiled Palestinian artist, returns to her family home in the city of Nablus in the West Bank years later, she travels down memory lane. Nidal grew up in 1930s Palestine living uncomfortably under British rule.

Now in her sixties, Nidal revisits her early life — she remembers popular resistance while growing up, such as a particularly disturbing memory of farmers clobbering the mayor, whom they saw as a puppet of the British, when he couldn’t solve their dispute over the water supply. At the height of the fight, Nidal finds her first (and only) love in the “handsome, tall, slim and exciting” Rabie, a freedom fighter. They bond while both are in Rabie’s village, but he soon leaves to fight for his true love: a free Palestine.

Nidal and Rabie meet again in their middle years, and he encourages her to read her uncle Amin’s journal. She finds revelations about her mother’s involvement — personal and professional — in the nationalist uprising that stun her.

“My First and Only Love” is a uniquely rich and complex portrayal of life in Palestine. Not only is it engaging, despite some longer and more florid portions of dialogue that younger readers may have difficulty reading, but it is educational for students.

Khalifeh is one of Palestine's most celebrated living authors. In “My First and Only Love,” the reader sees the author channel the nostalgia and emotion she feels for her homeland. The novel allows readers to see Palestine through vivid images, such as the scene in which one of the members of the Al-Qahtan clan casually discusses the approaching British forces while enjoying homemade labneh yogurt. Khalifeh goes to painstaking efforts to develop multilayered personalities for every single character, even the kids playing in the street.

Khalifeh goes to painstaking efforts to develop multilayered personalities for every single character, even the kids playing in the street.

Whether it is sitting with her creative Uncle Amin or standing on a craggy promontory beside the wizened freedom fighter Abu Tir, Nidal’s world, from the very earliest days of her childhood, is shaped by the people around her, including her mother and grandmother.

“My First and Only Love" portrays strong Arab women throughout. Her grandmother, whom everyone calls “Hajjeh,” travels long distances with only her granddaughter, no husband or male family member to accompany her. This action, as simple as it may seem, goes against the current for people of her generation and women in Muslim society. All the other women in the book — except for those in Nidal’s family, including her — have husbands.

“My First and Only Love" portrays strong Arab women throughout.

Widad is Nidal’s mother, a woman she never feels a connection to until the end of the book. What’s most striking about her character is not just her ability to thrive alone, but her close friendship with Lisa, her colleague. Widad is seen as flighty by her family members because “she was always thinking and reflecting and running away from Nablus… to Jerusalem to look for a job.” Through a modern lens, though, she’s a career-driven woman with an ambitious vision in a society that wasn’t ready for it yet.

"My First and Only Love” is an incredible read for all, as it spans the length and breadth of Palestine, depicting stories from Nablus to Sanour. It is a vibrant portrait of a culture that has been pushed and pulled to and fro but remains radiant. “My First and Only Love”is a great read for upper middle school and high school students who want to understand Palestinian history and culture.

 

Eshaan Mani is a rising junior at The Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas, and possesses a passion for storytelling across different media. In his free time, he enjoys filming and editing videos, playing an Indian drum called the dhol and learning wherever, whenever and with whatever he can. He also devotes time to volunteering with nonprofit organizations, especially those focused on literacy and education.