Paperback, 112 pages
English language
Published by University of Queensland Press.
Nabila Yasmeen is in her eighties. She lives alone with over a hundred plants that she keeps in pots because she can't bear to put them in the ground. In June of 1948, as a six-year-old girl, she was expelled with her family from their village in Palestine. Now she carries the weight of that expulsion with her, and her past and present are one.
Told in two timeframes, The Sunbird is a modern parable that tells the story of millions who just want to go home.
A gem-like parable about Palestine, timely and prismatic
This was a really beautiful read. It's very short, written intentionally to be read in one sitting. It tells the story of an elderly lady presently in Australia 2023, and when she was five and being removed from her village in Palestine in 1948. And the parallels of what has and hasn't changed in 75 years. Very poignant. Almost poetic. Definitely essential reading to help understand our current times.
