Summary of Sandy Tolan's The Lemon Tree

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 In July of 1967, Bashir Khairi and his cousins left Ramallah and arrived in East Jerusalem. They had asked their friends and neighbors how to navigate the new Israeli reality. Which bus should they take. How much is a ticket. How do they buy tickets. Will anyone check their papers if they board a bus.

#2 The young woman sat alone at the kitchen table. Sunlight streamed in through the south-facing windows of the stone house. The air raid sirens had finally fallen silent, and life in Dalia’s hometown of Ramla seemed to have returned to normal.

#3 The bus driver downshifted to descend the hills west of Jerusalem. Bashir was unsure if he wanted the trip to go quickly or slowly. If it went quickly, he would be in al-Ramla sooner; but if time slowed down, he could more fully take in each bend, each landmark, and each piece of his own history.

#4 Dalia, as a child, had wondered why the Arabs would willingly leave such a beautiful house. As she got older, she realized that the Arabs had fled like cowards, with their hot soup still steaming on the table.