The Garden

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Summary: Young holocaust survivors build the state of Israel.
Review: During the last four or five years, so many books with Jewish content have dealt solely with the subject of the Holocaust that juvenile Jewish reading is getting a bit depressing. Although some books about the subject have been notable like Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and The Devil's Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen (both Jewish authors), should this be the only subject matter for Jewish children?

Surprisingly enough, The Garden, by Carol Matas goes beyond the atrocities of the Holocaust into the spirit of rebirth as the state of Israel becomes a reality. Unfortunately, The Garden is not without it's bloodshed, but this time it is for a noble purpose -- a place to call Home.

Written in the present tense takes a little getting used to, yet it makes the reader feel like a real participant in the struggle for independence made by these gallant youth. Many of the "soldiers" of this unofficial war were young people between the ages of 15 and 25. Some of them had already been forced to grow up very fast because of their Holocaust experiences and felt that with this fight they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Woven into Matas' story are the contrasting philosophies of the Irgun and the Haganah as well as others who had strong feelings either for or against "partition" which, suggested by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947, would have divided Palestine between the Jews and the Arabs.

In case the reader is not Jewish, all Hebrew transliteration is converted to English translation and the glossary at the end of the book provides the reader with much useful information.

The garden referred to in the title of the book belongs to Ruth who is a Holocaust survivor. The garden is both therapeutic and symbolic. It is her way of putting behind her all the pain and losses of the Holocaust as she looks optimistically toward her future in this new land.

After being a witness to an innocent girl's senseless death, Ruth explains to us how the garden helps. "I'd tried to blot out those memories -- lose them in the fragrance of my flowers." Although Ruth realizes that more deaths will come during this struggle to give Jews a place to call their own, she looks to the memory of those garden flowers to give her the strength to cope.

The graphic references to some violent scenes make this book more suitable to a child old enough to understand that sacrifices needed to be made for the cause of independence. The recommended reading level on the book jacket is ages 12 and up. Personally, 12 seems a bit young for all the gory details of this book and the underlying love affair. Perhaps a young adult of 15 or older would be more suitable an audience. Adults would get much from this book also as many of the details of the 1947-48 period are made quite clear in the simple text.

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Summary: The Key To Understanding Current Conflict in the Middle East
Review: This is a wonderful book, the sequel to AFTER THE WAR. THE GARDEN is much longer than AFTER THE WAR. It sheds more light on the life of Ruth and her family when they get to Isreal.
I read this book without knowing it would help me understand Middle Eastern conflict of today. Confused about Yassir Arafat and Sharon? Than read this book. It is the root struggle of the conflicts of Isreal today. This book will make you feel compassionate towards both Isreali and Arab peoples - I reccomend this to people who can understand both sides of a conflict without a bias opinion.

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Summary: Internal conflicts prevail in the need for freedom
Review: This story depicts a, now, sixteen-year old Ruth Mendenberg who is forced to fight Arabs in Palestine to hold onto the little piece of independence she has experienced at Kibbutz David. Ruth endures many intrapersonal conflicts throughout her journey to freedom. She knows that she has to fight in the war but worries if she can do this in a fair manner, without disappointing her fellow Jewish comrades. Ruth does not want to disppoint herself, for she knows that she is the only one who has to absorb the guilt of killing another human being. At times, Ruth becomes so frustrated by all of the violence, she wonders if she knows the difference between right and wrong anymore. The temptation is thrust under her nose to kill those enemies who killed the ones she loved. "An eye for an eye" is one of the many radical ideals her brother, Simon, proclaims as he fights with the Irgun soldiers. Ruth is torn in making the decisions that will affect her life forever. Will she do what she believes is right and just during this tumultuous time? All she knows for sure is that she wants to return to a time when she planted her beautiful garden which brought her heart peace. This story is full of thought-provoking questions relative of all of our lives.