You HAVE to Know What Happens To The Lemon Tree

A Review of The Lemon Tree by Ilil Arbel

This book was a gift from the author but don’t wait until she offers you one! Buy it, get it, read it somehow. You have to know this family, the Wissotzkys. You have to get your frostbitten nose rubbed with snow and fat in Siberia. That’s how immediate and real Ida’s experiences are. You have to experience how a childhood disease, one my own brother had, can devastate and yet produce a symbol of hope that will cost you some tears.

The book has beautiful old snapshots and that’s how the child Ida captures life, even terrifying, degrading, hopeless moments, in her mental camera that fills your mind with her childish wonder. Clearly her strong, loving family made the journey from Russia to China to Egypt more than bearable.

Drink in their strength and share tea from their Samovar, both the old one and the new one. Ride a different kind of ship with Ida and see “coincidences” that to me, even as a Christian reader, affirm that God still loves and looks out for His people. And don’t forget, you have to know what happens to the Lemon Tree.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Lemon-Tree-Ilil-Arbel/dp/0595339824