I'd say this is a hard book to read during war time, although it's not as though there have been extended periods of peace during my adult years. Just wars that touched me more closely and wars that happened...there.
Alefret is an extraordinary character and the fact that he is not unbelievable just adds to the experience of appreciating him and his commitments and the story of violence and non-violence Mohamed is telling.
It's just thoughtful and complex and everything about it feels deeply true. And I so appreciated her portrayal of disability and othering in this story, especially in how it shapes the people who live it.

But I kept trying to use this story to think about Gaza. Not as 1:1 mapping, but as a larger conversation about safety and desperation and what it means to win and the things that cultures commit to and cannot let go of. And yet I think the ending was unsatisfying and I worry that's because I can't imagine a real ending to these wars that never end.