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The Wall Between Us: Notes from the Holy Land
'The biology of Israel/Palestine simply and beautifully revealed... Matthew Small, despite the horror of both the war, and the wall, works and travels both sides of the divide, and brings us to an understanding of where the seeds of peace can yet be found.' Jon Snow, Journalist and Presenter
Writer Matthew Small travelled to the Holy Land to further his understanding of the enduring conflict between Israel and Palestine. While there, he discovered beauty, fear and suffering like nowhere else in the world. In these honest and evocative reflections, Small retells his experiences of crossing into the West Bank to work the olive harvest with Palestinian farmers.
He relates his encounters with organisations that are determinedly working to sow the seeds of peace in soils that are deeply scarred by suffering and war. While reliving these unforgettable experiences, through his writing he struggles to find why the wall between these two groups of people exists. Deciding to join a group of international and Israeli volunteers, Small attempts to show that, despite the ongoing occupation, peace is not lost, but still to be discovered.
Writer Matthew Small travelled to the Holy Land to further his understanding of the enduring conflict between Israel and Palestine. While there, he discovered beauty, fear and suffering like nowhere else in the world. In these honest and evocative reflections, Small retells his experiences of crossing into the West Bank to work the olive harvest with Palestinian farmers.
He relates his encounters with organisations that are determinedly working to sow the seeds of peace in soils that are deeply scarred by suffering and war. While reliving these unforgettable experiences, through his writing he struggles to find why the wall between these two groups of people exists. Deciding to join a group of international and Israeli volunteers, Small attempts to show that, despite the ongoing occupation, peace is not lost, but still to be discovered.
- GenresNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2013
6 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Small
11 books12 followersMATTHEW SMALL is a fiction and non-fiction writer. In 2011, he was awarded first place in the Countryside Tales annual short story competition for his story, 'Lake View.' In 2012, Small was shortlisted for the Luke Bitmead Bursary in association with Legend Press. His non-fiction books, 'The Wall Between Us' and 'Down and Out Today,' are published by Paperbooks.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 12, 2017
Matthew Small is a fiction writer and freelance journalist. He has won a number of awards during the last few years. His story Lake View won him first place in the Countryside Tales annual short story competition in 2011. In 2012, he was shortlisted for the Luke Bitmead Bursary in association with Legend Press. During 2012 he embarked on a trip to the Holy Land resulting in the present book, The Wall Between Us.
This work of non-fiction presents a distinctive and open-minded look at the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Seen through the eyes of a twenty-eight years old writer-traveler, it is a touching account of the plights of the people on both sides of the divide as witnessed by Matthew Small. The book is insightful, honest and perceptive, and in more ways than one is a mature understanding of the whole mess that was enacted as early as 1948, and even before. The author’s account of his trip to Auschwitz is dearly touching.
This work of non-fiction presents a distinctive and open-minded look at the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Seen through the eyes of a twenty-eight years old writer-traveler, it is a touching account of the plights of the people on both sides of the divide as witnessed by Matthew Small. The book is insightful, honest and perceptive, and in more ways than one is a mature understanding of the whole mess that was enacted as early as 1948, and even before. The author’s account of his trip to Auschwitz is dearly touching.
May 7, 2018
This book is insightful, small gives detailed accounts of the lives affected by occupation. Some Touching stories of loss.
July 31, 2020
An insightful invitation to begin learning about the divide between Israel and Palestine.
October 29, 2014
I was sent this book as a Goodreads Giveaway; unfortunately the birth of my second child part way through reading it caused me to read somewhat slower than normal - even though it is quite a short book.
I have mixed feelings about this book: there's something about the writing that I don't like, yet the subject is truly fascinating.
I think the author is one of those people who I would find somewhat annoying if I met face to face. Never does he try and force his own opinions down your throat in the manner of some hard-line evangelists; indeed I'm not even sure having read the book that I truly understand his own personal beliefs. It's just that there's something about it which I found annoying. There are also several issues of poor editing which didn't help.
Once you put the voice of the author out of your mind, however, and concentrated on what was being said it was a very interesting book. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is something I've only ever been aware of on the periphery and never really understood. The book doesn't give the full in depth history of how it all came about, and to be honest I found myself looking up various maps and history on the internet whilst reading it. What it does do however, is offer an insight into the lives of those living in the situation every day (or at least the Palestinians).
Some would argue that the book gives a somewhat one sided view of the conflict, focusing only on the Palestinian viewpoint, yet I don't think this is justified. What the author repeatedly seeks to find out is the views and opinions of both sides - it's just that many of the Israelis either give a single word answer ("Security") or are somewhat oblivious to what life is actually like in the occupied territories.
The author seems to want to find the solution to the problem through his meditation whilst on the visit. Realistically this was never going to happen. But what he does manage to do, through a fairly clever medium, is to open the eyes of the rest of the world to what is happening on a day to day basis.
The ending of the book was a little disappointing for me. The author visits Auschwitz in an attempt to understand the Israeli mindset, yet this chapter is basically a description of the camp and it's history and doesn't really address at all how it links to the modern day conflict. This would have been a really interesting aspect to have considered and it is a shame it wasn't more developed.
All in all, I'm impressed that such a small and simple book can make me think so hard about a situation.
I have mixed feelings about this book: there's something about the writing that I don't like, yet the subject is truly fascinating.
I think the author is one of those people who I would find somewhat annoying if I met face to face. Never does he try and force his own opinions down your throat in the manner of some hard-line evangelists; indeed I'm not even sure having read the book that I truly understand his own personal beliefs. It's just that there's something about it which I found annoying. There are also several issues of poor editing which didn't help.
Once you put the voice of the author out of your mind, however, and concentrated on what was being said it was a very interesting book. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is something I've only ever been aware of on the periphery and never really understood. The book doesn't give the full in depth history of how it all came about, and to be honest I found myself looking up various maps and history on the internet whilst reading it. What it does do however, is offer an insight into the lives of those living in the situation every day (or at least the Palestinians).
Some would argue that the book gives a somewhat one sided view of the conflict, focusing only on the Palestinian viewpoint, yet I don't think this is justified. What the author repeatedly seeks to find out is the views and opinions of both sides - it's just that many of the Israelis either give a single word answer ("Security") or are somewhat oblivious to what life is actually like in the occupied territories.
The author seems to want to find the solution to the problem through his meditation whilst on the visit. Realistically this was never going to happen. But what he does manage to do, through a fairly clever medium, is to open the eyes of the rest of the world to what is happening on a day to day basis.
The ending of the book was a little disappointing for me. The author visits Auschwitz in an attempt to understand the Israeli mindset, yet this chapter is basically a description of the camp and it's history and doesn't really address at all how it links to the modern day conflict. This would have been a really interesting aspect to have considered and it is a shame it wasn't more developed.
All in all, I'm impressed that such a small and simple book can make me think so hard about a situation.
October 28, 2014
When Matthew Small travelled to the Holy Land to try to understand what the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians was all about, he soon realised how complex the situation is. The fear and suspicion between the two sides seem too deeply entrenched for there to ever be a solution. But he became convinced that the struggle for peace must go on and he met with and talked to people from some of the organisations that are doing what they can to find a solution. This book is his account of his time in this most troubled of regions and a succinct, open-minded and compassionate exploration of what it’s like to live in the area today. With honesty and insight he reflects on his time there, and relates his thoughts and feelings with great humanity. Heart-breaking, as is any account of life for the Palestinians, the book is a clear exposition of the history and current state of the conflict, and will be of enormous interest to anyone who wants to learn more. I was gripped by his personal account. Matthew Small writes well and with true feeling, and is to be congratulated on his attempt to make sense of the senseless.
September 23, 2014
The author diarises his trip to the Holy Lands touching both Palestinian and Israeli territory and reports on the various meetings that he had with people during his trip.This is a very short documentary account of the author's trip and enables him to visit tourist sites as well as seeing some of the "real" parts of the Holy Lands. The opinions formed reflect the unfairness of the whole Arab/Israeli problem and the dispute between Hamas and Israel which has been rumbling away in one way or another since 1948. I feel that this only scratches the surface of what lies behind the conflict, but as an account of the author's trip, it makes interesting reading. The detail, which the book concludes with, on Auschwitz and his trip there is very moving. The book is simply written detailing both his notes taken during his trip and his subsequent thoughts on the issues raised. A little simplistic at times, but a good introduction to what is going on in this part of the Middle East.
October 2, 2015
However absurd it is, it is a truth that there has been a war going on everyday for few people in the Middle East and seems like this is not ending anytime soon. I have been reading a lot about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, the reasons behind it and what can be done to achieve peace. This book has helped me a lot to understand what the current scenario is and what is being done to improve it. It helps when a book is written by a well informed journalist. It helps you better when he explains you the situation after a spending a good time in the area and doing some major follow ups from other groups who strive to bring peace between the two nations.
for complete review, visit :
http://acupofcoffeeandafairytale.blog...
for complete review, visit :
http://acupofcoffeeandafairytale.blog...
October 6, 2014
I was looking forward to reading this book, as i am very interested in the Israeli/Palestinian situation. I very much enjoyed the parts of the book where the writer spent time with the Palestinian farmers and would have liked to know much more about their way of life. The writer showed great empathy with the Palestinians, and i had not realised how awful their lives were being made by the state of Israel - it is much worse than I had understood it to be. The book was very moving and made me angry that it this day and age man can still treat his fellow human beings to appallingly. A book well worth reading.
April 6, 2015
"The Wall Between Us" by Matthew Small is a wonderful travel journey with deep and thoughtful, personal impressions by the author. It is neither political nor judgemental but approaches the subject from a human and very personal perspective.
It is a good attempt at making people understand the complexity of the situation by describing the lives of people affected by the conflict. An eye opener and an important contribution without a lecture or a claim to have a solution, this was a refreshing read.
"Talk (tell) the world" and that he does, hopefully contributing to end the conflict from within through understanding.
A worthy read.
It is a good attempt at making people understand the complexity of the situation by describing the lives of people affected by the conflict. An eye opener and an important contribution without a lecture or a claim to have a solution, this was a refreshing read.
"Talk (tell) the world" and that he does, hopefully contributing to end the conflict from within through understanding.
A worthy read.
December 17, 2015
I am constantly fascinated by struggles in the middle east. This is a perfect little book to help me understand more.
May 1, 2017
An eye opener.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews