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Una botella al mar de Gaza
Para entender qué pasa del otro lado, cómo piensan y sienten los palestinos, Tal decide lanzar una botella al mar y establecer un contacto, un diálogo que le permita vislumbrar la realidad palestina. Naïm responde a su mensaje de manera hosca y burlona; sin embargo, poco a poco su ironía se irá transformando en confianza y a través de sus cartas podemos ver los dos lados del conflicto.
128 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2005
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About the author
Valérie Zenatti
47 books24 followersValérie Zenatti was born in Nice on April Fool’s Day 1970. When she was thirteen she went to live with her parents in Israel, where she did her national service, which inspired her memoir, When I was a Soldier. Even now she doesn’t go out without her survival kit — these days of a book, a notepad and a pen. Valérie now lives in Paris, where she works as a translator of Hebrew. She is also writing screenplays based on two of her books, Late for War and Message in a Bottle. Valérie is continually surprised and delighted at seeing Lucas, aged eight, and Nina, nearly two, grow up.
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January 6, 2020RACIST. PROPAGANDA. For anyone reading this, PLEASE heed this message: be extremely cautious and critical and wary of any production of art (film, novel, tv, etc) that employs the racist rhetoric of neoliberal multiculturalism. Decolonization does not happen because love is created between the oppressor and the oppressed. Love and commonalities and human emotions do not heal a history of ethnic cleansing, colonialism and imperialism, a history that is produced and reproduced in the Western Canon.
I knew that this book would be a disaster, but still the critical literature student in me had to read it so that I can confirm what I already knew: racist imperial propaganda at its finest. It’s novels like these that make privileged Europeans and Americans believe they know what the solution to the “conflict” in Palestine should be. To those people who believe they know because a Palestinian character in a novel like this one tells you that the war is “idiotic” and “who started it anyways?” And the only reason youth in Gaza throw stones at Israeli soldiers is because they’re bored......(completely trivializing resistance and decolonization efforts). To those people I say you are part of the problem. You continue to reap the benefits of your imperial, murderous ancestors, and instead of acknowledging that history and its ever-present role in the neocolonialism of today, you read books like these and claim that violence is not the answer.
To paraphrase Franz Fanon in The Wretched of the Earth, decolonization is violent. It seeks to shake the very order of things, the order that has produced the other.
I’m angry. I’m so angry. Because as I write this Israeli soldiers and settlers attack my village to steal land to build another settlement. They shoot us. They take. Then they go home to their air conditioned homes that are protected behind walls and barbed wires with soldiers with guns protecting them. They wash our blood from their hands with the water that Israel keeps from us while also charging us for it.
We have this wonderful website that keeps us connected with each other and with endless books. So please, read. Learn. But be aware that even books can be very very dangerous and counterproductive for awareness. This book is an example.
I hope this review is taken in solidarity and resistance to all the forces that oppress and marginalize.
I knew that this book would be a disaster, but still the critical literature student in me had to read it so that I can confirm what I already knew: racist imperial propaganda at its finest. It’s novels like these that make privileged Europeans and Americans believe they know what the solution to the “conflict” in Palestine should be. To those people who believe they know because a Palestinian character in a novel like this one tells you that the war is “idiotic” and “who started it anyways?” And the only reason youth in Gaza throw stones at Israeli soldiers is because they’re bored......(completely trivializing resistance and decolonization efforts). To those people I say you are part of the problem. You continue to reap the benefits of your imperial, murderous ancestors, and instead of acknowledging that history and its ever-present role in the neocolonialism of today, you read books like these and claim that violence is not the answer.
To paraphrase Franz Fanon in The Wretched of the Earth, decolonization is violent. It seeks to shake the very order of things, the order that has produced the other.
I’m angry. I’m so angry. Because as I write this Israeli soldiers and settlers attack my village to steal land to build another settlement. They shoot us. They take. Then they go home to their air conditioned homes that are protected behind walls and barbed wires with soldiers with guns protecting them. They wash our blood from their hands with the water that Israel keeps from us while also charging us for it.
We have this wonderful website that keeps us connected with each other and with endless books. So please, read. Learn. But be aware that even books can be very very dangerous and counterproductive for awareness. This book is an example.
I hope this review is taken in solidarity and resistance to all the forces that oppress and marginalize.
January 10, 2025
Présente une vision erronée de la lutte palestinienne, le réduit à un conflit compliqué entre deux groupes religieux (ce qu'il n'est pas). Le souvenir de cette lecture m’est plutôt embrouillé outre que j'avais l'impression que c'était superficiel et faux. Tout simplement de la propagande pro-Israel enveloppé avec un beau ruban blanc.
Presents a false vision of the Palestinian struggle, reduces it to a complicated conflict between two religious groups (which it is not). I don't remember much about this read except that it felt shallow and wrong. Simply pro-Israel propaganda wrapped with a pretty white bow.
Presents a false vision of the Palestinian struggle, reduces it to a complicated conflict between two religious groups (which it is not). I don't remember much about this read except that it felt shallow and wrong. Simply pro-Israel propaganda wrapped with a pretty white bow.
December 2, 2020
J’ai adoré ma lecture de ce roman tellement d’actualité. Ça m’a permis d’en apprendre davantage sur ce conflit qui perdure depuis trop longtemps. Une magnifique histoire d’amitié, d’espoir, de résilience, de maturité. J’ai adoré l’échange de courriels entre les deux protagonistes. Un livre magnifique!
July 28, 2011
3.5/5
The author is an Israeli and I personally thought it showed. Her portrayal of "Gazaman" felt incomplete. I might be being too hasty but I was annoyed that "Gazaman" was so down on his faith and all aspects of Muslim culture. He had nothing positive to say about Palestine which I thought took away from the supposedly neutral tone of the book. He mocks his culture in addition to Tal and since I have a lot of respect for the Muslim culture, this grated on me. In addition I have mixed feelings about the ending. I liked how open-ended it was (which is rare for me because I usually detest those. I'd take a sad ending over no ending almost any day), it works just right for this book. I would however, have appreciated a sequel/epilogue just to know where both of them are in their respective lives three years later. I finished the book not liking Tal but I respected her. She was just SO CHEERFUL and optimistic, it was too much. No wonder Gazaman felt the need to bring her back to reality sometimes. I found her a bit unrealistic in that she immediately told this male stranger all about her life, included a picture, etc. Also on the author's part, sometimes she would explain a lot about a character (for example Tal's brother, Eyyan) but not others (like Tal's boyfriend, Ori). Plus Tal would write down conversations she had with people and they were often extremely long dialogues.
This may sound odd but I was pleased that Ori was a good guy. I'm growing tired of the storyline where a new guy comes in and then the girl wakes up and realizes that *GASP* her boyfriend is actually a jerk. Ori was fairly one-dimensional but he wasn't perfect and yet they had a strong relationship, even though Tal was writing to Gazaman. I adored Gazaman and his biting sense of humor, mainly because I'm sarcastic all the time with my friends so I have a fondness for good sarcasm. The author did an excellent job of making it clear when Gazaman was being sarcastic and when he was serious, "[w]e should set up an Israeli-Palestinian asylum, you and me. It would be a beautiful symbol of reconciliation as Westerners say. We could call it the Majnun & Meshuga Institute, with our motto engraved over the door: Peace comes from insanity" (pg. 121), I think that's an utterly brilliant motto. Perhaps the email exchange between two strangers is an easy way to explain a complex situation but I didn't care because I was fascinated by the descriptions of life in the Gaza Strip (Palestine) versus life in Israel. Different hardly begins to describe the two places.
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea has one of the most appropriate endings I've come across, not hopelessly optimistic but open ended enough that it could be happy. I wanted a bit more clarity but the ending works. I loved every minute of observing Jerusalem with Tal, surveying the Gaza Strip with Gazaman. And like both Tal (and although he wouldn't admit it at first, Gazaman) I eagerly awaited their emails to each other. I became caught up in stories about the bombings, fearing the author would utterly break my heart (and she sort-of did. Just consider lines like the following, "I don't understand how life can hinge on so little: whether or not you feel like going to the cafe along a certain street", pg. 9). I would have liked more space/explanation/introspection in between the dialogue and further exploration of Gazaman's Muslim faith (why is he so delusional? Was he even raised Muslim?). On a more personal note I really enjoyed this book because I knew bits and pieces about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but not much. This book pried my eyes wide open and forced me to do a double-take, I love when a book makes me do that! An arresting tale that manages to walk the fine line between not being naively optimistic nor being pessimistically realistic. I wish I could give this book not only to all American high school students and government leaders but to all Israelis and Palestinians as well. Like the letters Tal and Gazaman write to each other, it would be another drop in the ocean. And to be perfectly honest, before reading this book I would have said I was more sympathetic to the Israeli cause. Now I'm torn. But I will keep reading so that I can make up my mind and be truly well-informed.
The author is an Israeli and I personally thought it showed. Her portrayal of "Gazaman" felt incomplete. I might be being too hasty but I was annoyed that "Gazaman" was so down on his faith and all aspects of Muslim culture. He had nothing positive to say about Palestine which I thought took away from the supposedly neutral tone of the book. He mocks his culture in addition to Tal and since I have a lot of respect for the Muslim culture, this grated on me. In addition I have mixed feelings about the ending. I liked how open-ended it was (which is rare for me because I usually detest those. I'd take a sad ending over no ending almost any day), it works just right for this book. I would however, have appreciated a sequel/epilogue just to know where both of them are in their respective lives three years later. I finished the book not liking Tal but I respected her. She was just SO CHEERFUL and optimistic, it was too much. No wonder Gazaman felt the need to bring her back to reality sometimes. I found her a bit unrealistic in that she immediately told this male stranger all about her life, included a picture, etc. Also on the author's part, sometimes she would explain a lot about a character (for example Tal's brother, Eyyan) but not others (like Tal's boyfriend, Ori). Plus Tal would write down conversations she had with people and they were often extremely long dialogues.
This may sound odd but I was pleased that Ori was a good guy. I'm growing tired of the storyline where a new guy comes in and then the girl wakes up and realizes that *GASP* her boyfriend is actually a jerk. Ori was fairly one-dimensional but he wasn't perfect and yet they had a strong relationship, even though Tal was writing to Gazaman. I adored Gazaman and his biting sense of humor, mainly because I'm sarcastic all the time with my friends so I have a fondness for good sarcasm. The author did an excellent job of making it clear when Gazaman was being sarcastic and when he was serious, "[w]e should set up an Israeli-Palestinian asylum, you and me. It would be a beautiful symbol of reconciliation as Westerners say. We could call it the Majnun & Meshuga Institute, with our motto engraved over the door: Peace comes from insanity" (pg. 121), I think that's an utterly brilliant motto. Perhaps the email exchange between two strangers is an easy way to explain a complex situation but I didn't care because I was fascinated by the descriptions of life in the Gaza Strip (Palestine) versus life in Israel. Different hardly begins to describe the two places.
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea has one of the most appropriate endings I've come across, not hopelessly optimistic but open ended enough that it could be happy. I wanted a bit more clarity but the ending works. I loved every minute of observing Jerusalem with Tal, surveying the Gaza Strip with Gazaman. And like both Tal (and although he wouldn't admit it at first, Gazaman) I eagerly awaited their emails to each other. I became caught up in stories about the bombings, fearing the author would utterly break my heart (and she sort-of did. Just consider lines like the following, "I don't understand how life can hinge on so little: whether or not you feel like going to the cafe along a certain street", pg. 9). I would have liked more space/explanation/introspection in between the dialogue and further exploration of Gazaman's Muslim faith (why is he so delusional? Was he even raised Muslim?). On a more personal note I really enjoyed this book because I knew bits and pieces about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but not much. This book pried my eyes wide open and forced me to do a double-take, I love when a book makes me do that! An arresting tale that manages to walk the fine line between not being naively optimistic nor being pessimistically realistic. I wish I could give this book not only to all American high school students and government leaders but to all Israelis and Palestinians as well. Like the letters Tal and Gazaman write to each other, it would be another drop in the ocean. And to be perfectly honest, before reading this book I would have said I was more sympathetic to the Israeli cause. Now I'm torn. But I will keep reading so that I can make up my mind and be truly well-informed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2023
Bien que ce soit une fiction le « conflit » y est décrit de manière trop simpliste et si on ne connaît pas le sujet on pourrait croire qu’il s’agit de 2 peuples égaux qui se battent pour une terre alors qu’en réalité les palestiniens subissent une colonisation, un nettoyage ethnique, un génocide depuis des années !
Attention aux avis qui vous donnent envie de le lire en disant qu’on a des témoignages des 2 cotés et que le livre est neutre alors qu’il est complètement pro Israël.
Quand on traite d’un sujet aussi dur et important vaut mieux s’abstenir plutôt que de raconter des conneries pareilles !!!!
Attention aux avis qui vous donnent envie de le lire en disant qu’on a des témoignages des 2 cotés et que le livre est neutre alors qu’il est complètement pro Israël.
Quand on traite d’un sujet aussi dur et important vaut mieux s’abstenir plutôt que de raconter des conneries pareilles !!!!
August 10, 2024
Un roman touchant qui permet de réfléchir aux enjeux du conflit israélo-palestinien. Ce roman qui est extrêmement bien nuancé met de l’avant la complexité de la guerre, surtout lorsqu’elle se trouve au sein d’un même pays.
January 11, 2021
Normalement, je n’apprécie pas beaucoup les histoires entre deux correspondants, dans lesquelles nous lisons seulement leurs courriels. Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza est l’exception à la norme. Ce roman était plus que touchant et m’a permis d’en apprendre plus sur la guerre israélo-palestinienne. C’est un roman assez rapide qui se lit en une soirée. J’ai versé une petite larme à la fin, de joie et de tristesse à la fois, pour savoir pourquoi, lisez le livre!
April 2, 2023
Me gustaría decir que me gustó más de lo que me gustó, pero la verdad es que no. La verdad es que siento que es un intento raro de blanquear a Israel, que lo mejor de todo es el chico palestino y que el final es anticlimático. Espero desarrollarlo pronto en una reseña.
Por otro lado, si quieren leer cosas de Palestina, les recomiendo el trabajo periódistico de Joe Sacco.
http://www.neapoulain.com/2019/04/una...
Creo que todos sabemos la historia del conflicto Israel-Palestina, ¿no? Al menos las generalidades: llegó Israel, quiso un país, todos se opusieron, le declararon la guerra, Palestina se quedó sin Estado y en control israelí, Israel hizo unas cuantas barbaridades por ahí en los cincuentas en Palestina... de hecho sigue la cosa. En resumen: la gente inocente muere. Y cuando digo inocente quiero decir la clase trabajadora en general. Valérie Zenatti es francesa aunque vive/vivió en Israel e hizo su servicio militar en Israel (por favor no me pregunten qué opino de él) y escribió un libro sobre ello y por eso es conocida un poco. Aquí el Fondo de Cultura Económica tradujo su libro Una botella al mar de Gaza, que es una historia de correspondencia entre Tal y Naïm, una israelí y un palestino.
Toda la literatura es política. Y quiero dejar esto bien claro. Bueno, no sólo la literatura, todo el arte. Y no sólo el arte, todo. Todo. Hasta ir a cagar, si quieren. Pero hablando de las historias, todas parten de la cabeza de alguien, de la ideología de alguien. Entonces, por ejemplo, yo escribo algo y me dicen "es que parece que odias al capitalismo" y sí, probablemente se note. Eso pasa con todos. Muchas veces se adivina en el subtexto o se ve claramente, cuando el punto es ese, la ideología de una persona. Por ejemplo, los últimos libros de la saga de la sombra de Orson Scott Card están atascados de cosas que él piensa y en el subtexto, de cosas que piensa de las mujeres. Los libros de Ayn Rand..., ni qué decir: vive en un mundo de pedo donde los empresarios son buenas personas, pagan sueldos justos y no hay capitalistas estúpidos. Hasta los superhéroes: nacieron con el propósito de ser propaganda bélica en favor de los Estados Unidos y por eso muchos de sus enemigos están o estaban vinculados a los nazis. Así que un libro que habla de la franja de Gaza es obvio que trae una ideología y una agenda detrás: en este caso, habla de la paz.
Tal es una joven que vive en Jerusalén y sueña con que, un día, haya paz. La verdad es que no lo tiene muy claro (hasta Naïm se lo dice) y es idealista a más no poder. Adolescente que sueña cambiar el mundo, finalmente. Me pareció un personaje muy adecuado para ser el pivote de la historia, porque precisamente es de alguien como Tal que te crees que quiera echar una botella al mar de Gaza para comunicarse con alguien en Palestina. Lo dije: idealismo. Mi favorito, sin embargo, es Naïm. Más resentido, más irónico, más directo al punto, más realista, pero también más agudo en sus análisis. Me gusta porque en cada frase mete la política y me recuerda a mí. La comunicación entre ambos funciona por lo diferentes que son y hacen a una historia en la que parece que no pasan demasiadas cosas, mucho más dinámica de lo que parece de lejos.
El único problema de esta novela creo que es su estructura. Hay una introducción, hay algo que hace que Tal decida enviar un mensaje y algo que hace que Naïm lo responda. ¿Y luego? Luego hay que agotar la fórmula hasta el infinito, meter un par de atentados (uno de cada lado, que quede la cosa igual), no saber resolver la tensión de la novela, meter una subtrama romántica que no va a ninguna parte y crear un final más anticlimático imposible. Ese es un problema. No hay final, hay más bien un corte. Valérie Zenatti parece no saber como resolver nada y lo que queda es algo parecido lejanamente a un deux-ex-machina que no lo es del todo, pero se le acerca. Les confesaré que no fue mi parte favorita y, para mí, le restó muchísimo a la novela.
Es como si se hubiera dado cuenta de que el tema que estaba tratando (un conflicto internacional que siempre se cobra vidas) era demasiado peligroso y lo cortara de un tajo. Tal cual. Me gusta más, por ejemplo, como habla Joe Sacco de Israel y de Palestina. Es más frío y más realista, pero me gusta su visión. Joe Sacco es un periodista que ha cubierto varias cosas en la franja de Gaza y que publicó una novela gráfica sobre muchos asesinatos de hombres palestinos que cometió el ejército israelí en los 50 que se llama Footnotes in Gaza. Es un trabajo periodístico pero en el menciona que lo hace para que todos esos asesinatos no sean sólo un pie de página de algo que pasó, sino que exista algo documentando. Aquí, parece que mientras Valérie Zenatti tiene que acercarse más al conflicto, más se va hacia atrás. Le mete la reversa muy rápido, así que, fuera de que es obvio que quería escribir este libro para hablar de la paz y de lo bonito que sería que la hubiera en este conflicto, no me quedó claro el punto de nada.
Por otro lado, los personajes secundarios apenas si están perfilados, no existe ninguna clase de desarrollo en ellos. Tienen nombre. A veces se me olvidaba quienes eran. O sea, no tenían característica alguna que hiciera que se quedaran guardados en mi mente.
Creo que de todo eso, el punto positivo es que ahonda un poco (muy superficialmente, pero lo toca) en las consecuencias psicológicas que tiene vivir cerca de un conflicto y ver la muerte de cerca. Le pasa por encima al tema, pero lo toca. Y eso en la LIJ me parece algo muy valioso en estos tiempos.
Fuera de eso, el libro me pareció un libro promedio. Ni bueno, ni malo; nada demasiado positivo, nada demasiado negativo. Recomendado si quieren alguna lectura sobre el tema, pero no creo que, literariamente, sea lo mejor del mundo. Lo vi bastante normal. Esa es mi conclusión sobre el libro: normal, nada extraordinario. Lo edita el Fondo de Cultura Económica en su colección A través del espejo, que es juvenil, por si les interesa conocerlo. Después de todo, no es una mala lectura. ¡Nos vemos en la siguiente reseña!
Por otro lado, si quieren leer cosas de Palestina, les recomiendo el trabajo periódistico de Joe Sacco.
http://www.neapoulain.com/2019/04/una...
Creo que todos sabemos la historia del conflicto Israel-Palestina, ¿no? Al menos las generalidades: llegó Israel, quiso un país, todos se opusieron, le declararon la guerra, Palestina se quedó sin Estado y en control israelí, Israel hizo unas cuantas barbaridades por ahí en los cincuentas en Palestina... de hecho sigue la cosa. En resumen: la gente inocente muere. Y cuando digo inocente quiero decir la clase trabajadora en general. Valérie Zenatti es francesa aunque vive/vivió en Israel e hizo su servicio militar en Israel (por favor no me pregunten qué opino de él) y escribió un libro sobre ello y por eso es conocida un poco. Aquí el Fondo de Cultura Económica tradujo su libro Una botella al mar de Gaza, que es una historia de correspondencia entre Tal y Naïm, una israelí y un palestino.
Toda la literatura es política. Y quiero dejar esto bien claro. Bueno, no sólo la literatura, todo el arte. Y no sólo el arte, todo. Todo. Hasta ir a cagar, si quieren. Pero hablando de las historias, todas parten de la cabeza de alguien, de la ideología de alguien. Entonces, por ejemplo, yo escribo algo y me dicen "es que parece que odias al capitalismo" y sí, probablemente se note. Eso pasa con todos. Muchas veces se adivina en el subtexto o se ve claramente, cuando el punto es ese, la ideología de una persona. Por ejemplo, los últimos libros de la saga de la sombra de Orson Scott Card están atascados de cosas que él piensa y en el subtexto, de cosas que piensa de las mujeres. Los libros de Ayn Rand..., ni qué decir: vive en un mundo de pedo donde los empresarios son buenas personas, pagan sueldos justos y no hay capitalistas estúpidos. Hasta los superhéroes: nacieron con el propósito de ser propaganda bélica en favor de los Estados Unidos y por eso muchos de sus enemigos están o estaban vinculados a los nazis. Así que un libro que habla de la franja de Gaza es obvio que trae una ideología y una agenda detrás: en este caso, habla de la paz.
Tal es una joven que vive en Jerusalén y sueña con que, un día, haya paz. La verdad es que no lo tiene muy claro (hasta Naïm se lo dice) y es idealista a más no poder. Adolescente que sueña cambiar el mundo, finalmente. Me pareció un personaje muy adecuado para ser el pivote de la historia, porque precisamente es de alguien como Tal que te crees que quiera echar una botella al mar de Gaza para comunicarse con alguien en Palestina. Lo dije: idealismo. Mi favorito, sin embargo, es Naïm. Más resentido, más irónico, más directo al punto, más realista, pero también más agudo en sus análisis. Me gusta porque en cada frase mete la política y me recuerda a mí. La comunicación entre ambos funciona por lo diferentes que son y hacen a una historia en la que parece que no pasan demasiadas cosas, mucho más dinámica de lo que parece de lejos.
El único problema de esta novela creo que es su estructura. Hay una introducción, hay algo que hace que Tal decida enviar un mensaje y algo que hace que Naïm lo responda. ¿Y luego? Luego hay que agotar la fórmula hasta el infinito, meter un par de atentados (uno de cada lado, que quede la cosa igual), no saber resolver la tensión de la novela, meter una subtrama romántica que no va a ninguna parte y crear un final más anticlimático imposible. Ese es un problema. No hay final, hay más bien un corte. Valérie Zenatti parece no saber como resolver nada y lo que queda es algo parecido lejanamente a un deux-ex-machina que no lo es del todo, pero se le acerca. Les confesaré que no fue mi parte favorita y, para mí, le restó muchísimo a la novela.
Es como si se hubiera dado cuenta de que el tema que estaba tratando (un conflicto internacional que siempre se cobra vidas) era demasiado peligroso y lo cortara de un tajo. Tal cual. Me gusta más, por ejemplo, como habla Joe Sacco de Israel y de Palestina. Es más frío y más realista, pero me gusta su visión. Joe Sacco es un periodista que ha cubierto varias cosas en la franja de Gaza y que publicó una novela gráfica sobre muchos asesinatos de hombres palestinos que cometió el ejército israelí en los 50 que se llama Footnotes in Gaza. Es un trabajo periodístico pero en el menciona que lo hace para que todos esos asesinatos no sean sólo un pie de página de algo que pasó, sino que exista algo documentando. Aquí, parece que mientras Valérie Zenatti tiene que acercarse más al conflicto, más se va hacia atrás. Le mete la reversa muy rápido, así que, fuera de que es obvio que quería escribir este libro para hablar de la paz y de lo bonito que sería que la hubiera en este conflicto, no me quedó claro el punto de nada.
Por otro lado, los personajes secundarios apenas si están perfilados, no existe ninguna clase de desarrollo en ellos. Tienen nombre. A veces se me olvidaba quienes eran. O sea, no tenían característica alguna que hiciera que se quedaran guardados en mi mente.
Creo que de todo eso, el punto positivo es que ahonda un poco (muy superficialmente, pero lo toca) en las consecuencias psicológicas que tiene vivir cerca de un conflicto y ver la muerte de cerca. Le pasa por encima al tema, pero lo toca. Y eso en la LIJ me parece algo muy valioso en estos tiempos.
Fuera de eso, el libro me pareció un libro promedio. Ni bueno, ni malo; nada demasiado positivo, nada demasiado negativo. Recomendado si quieren alguna lectura sobre el tema, pero no creo que, literariamente, sea lo mejor del mundo. Lo vi bastante normal. Esa es mi conclusión sobre el libro: normal, nada extraordinario. Lo edita el Fondo de Cultura Económica en su colección A través del espejo, que es juvenil, por si les interesa conocerlo. Después de todo, no es una mala lectura. ¡Nos vemos en la siguiente reseña!
July 8, 2016
*I watched the movie based on this book, so the review below is in relation to the movie not the book.
Tal is a seventeen-year-old girl who has moved to Jerusalem with her family. One day there is a suicide bomber that attacks a cafe near her home & she starts to wonder if there really has to be so much hate between Palestinians & Israelis. She writes a letter, places it in a bottle, and gives hit to her brother to throw it into the Gaza Sea. A group of Palestinian boys find and one of them decides to write her back. Here begins a very interesting & complicated relationship between two people of very different cultures. This movie is appropriate for grades 9+ and can help to illustrate the extreme discord between two cultures, but how there is hope for change.
Tal is a seventeen-year-old girl who has moved to Jerusalem with her family. One day there is a suicide bomber that attacks a cafe near her home & she starts to wonder if there really has to be so much hate between Palestinians & Israelis. She writes a letter, places it in a bottle, and gives hit to her brother to throw it into the Gaza Sea. A group of Palestinian boys find and one of them decides to write her back. Here begins a very interesting & complicated relationship between two people of very different cultures. This movie is appropriate for grades 9+ and can help to illustrate the extreme discord between two cultures, but how there is hope for change.
July 21, 2023
I didn't understand the end very well. But this book is very well written, the story is original and sad at the same time. I had to read it for school, thinking it would suck, instead I'm proud to have read it.
February 1, 2025
Ce livre, écrit il y a 20 ans, est encore terriblement d'actualité.
Roman jeunesse qui se lit très vite mais qui invite à la réflexion.
J'ai mis plein de post-it. J'avais jamais mis de post-it dans un livre avant.
Très émouvant.
Roman jeunesse qui se lit très vite mais qui invite à la réflexion.
J'ai mis plein de post-it. J'avais jamais mis de post-it dans un livre avant.
Très émouvant.
July 26, 2010
A Bottle in the Gaza Sea By: Valerie Zenatti
Tal, an Israeli teenage girl, writes a letter promoting peace with Palestine. She puts this letter in a bottle and asks her brother to throw it in the Gaza Sea. To her surprise a Palestinian young man answers, and they begin an email relationship. Both Tal and Naim realize that the other sides are not as they had perceived. They grow to depend on each other and the support that their emails and instant messages provide. Over time Tal and Naim fall in love and hope to meet. Naim decides to leave Palestine and go to college in Canada. The story ends by him asking her if they can meet in three years time, he says she will know him because he will be holding her bottle.
This book is a young adult fictional novel. There are no illustrations other then the cover art. The cover is straight to the point, and really portrays the message behind the story of Tal and Naim. War is sad and it affects everyone. I would recommend this book to young adults ages 14-18. There are a few graphic bombing events that would be upsetting to younger readers. I could see this book being used in high school programs in either English or history. This story is a great way to learn more about the war happening in the Gaza strip. The author spends a lot of the story talking about true events that happened in the area, so not a lot of previous background knowledge is required. I would also recommend reading this text and watching the movie Persepolis. Students could compare the events in this book to the events going on between Iran and Iraq. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it even for adults as a window book. I learned a lot about the culture, and more about the events that led up to the tensions in the area.
Tal, an Israeli teenage girl, writes a letter promoting peace with Palestine. She puts this letter in a bottle and asks her brother to throw it in the Gaza Sea. To her surprise a Palestinian young man answers, and they begin an email relationship. Both Tal and Naim realize that the other sides are not as they had perceived. They grow to depend on each other and the support that their emails and instant messages provide. Over time Tal and Naim fall in love and hope to meet. Naim decides to leave Palestine and go to college in Canada. The story ends by him asking her if they can meet in three years time, he says she will know him because he will be holding her bottle.
This book is a young adult fictional novel. There are no illustrations other then the cover art. The cover is straight to the point, and really portrays the message behind the story of Tal and Naim. War is sad and it affects everyone. I would recommend this book to young adults ages 14-18. There are a few graphic bombing events that would be upsetting to younger readers. I could see this book being used in high school programs in either English or history. This story is a great way to learn more about the war happening in the Gaza strip. The author spends a lot of the story talking about true events that happened in the area, so not a lot of previous background knowledge is required. I would also recommend reading this text and watching the movie Persepolis. Students could compare the events in this book to the events going on between Iran and Iraq. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it even for adults as a window book. I learned a lot about the culture, and more about the events that led up to the tensions in the area.
September 21, 2025
"Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza" est un excellent roman jeunesse (14 ans et +) et un choix excellent pour un cours de littéraire de secondaire 4 ou 5. Sorti en 2005, il semble bien décrire la situation dans la bande de Gaza le 6 octobre 2023 à la veille des tirs de roquettes et le raid à l'intérieur d'Israël orchestrés par Hamas. Ce roman va inévitablement déplaire aux lecteurs qui appuient fortement un des deux cotés dans ce conflit. Pourtant, la grande majorité des lecteurs nord-américains vont trouver que le roman de Zenatti trouve le juste milieu entre les deux camps belligérants.
Zenatti l'auteure n'est pas une Israélienne mais plutôt une juive française qui a vécu en Israël pendant huit ans. C'est une partisan de la solution à deux états et une grande admiratrice de Yitzhak Rabbin le premier ministre d'Israël qui s'est fait assassiner pour avoir signé les traités de paix d'Oslo. Espérons que la rêve de Rabin n'est pas mort mais les la s'évolue dans une très mauvaise direction au moment ou j'écris.
Le roman prend la forme d'une série de courriels échanges entre une Juliette Israélienne (Tal) et un Roméo gazaoui (Naïm). La recette n'a rien de nouveau mais les détails sont superbes. Heureusement le roman se termine en conte de fée. D'après moi, "Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza" mérite bien une place aux programmes des écoles secondaires au Canada et aux États-Unis.
Zenatti l'auteure n'est pas une Israélienne mais plutôt une juive française qui a vécu en Israël pendant huit ans. C'est une partisan de la solution à deux états et une grande admiratrice de Yitzhak Rabbin le premier ministre d'Israël qui s'est fait assassiner pour avoir signé les traités de paix d'Oslo. Espérons que la rêve de Rabin n'est pas mort mais les la s'évolue dans une très mauvaise direction au moment ou j'écris.
Le roman prend la forme d'une série de courriels échanges entre une Juliette Israélienne (Tal) et un Roméo gazaoui (Naïm). La recette n'a rien de nouveau mais les détails sont superbes. Heureusement le roman se termine en conte de fée. D'après moi, "Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza" mérite bien une place aux programmes des écoles secondaires au Canada et aux États-Unis.
September 1, 2024
Lu en 3h… il m’a déchiré le cœur en même temps qu’il me l’a réparé.
Les personnages de Tal et Naïm sont juste incroyables et je les aime passionnément. Ils sont attachants et j’avais l’impression de vivre les événements traumatiques qu’ils vivaient, d’être à Gaza et à Jérusalem en même temps.
La fin m’a donné des frissons et, vraiment, je pense qu’il me faut du temps pour m’en remettre émotionnellement.
Ce livre est magnifique, touchant, poignant et, en même temps, un message d’espoir. À lire vraiment !
Les personnages de Tal et Naïm sont juste incroyables et je les aime passionnément. Ils sont attachants et j’avais l’impression de vivre les événements traumatiques qu’ils vivaient, d’être à Gaza et à Jérusalem en même temps.
La fin m’a donné des frissons et, vraiment, je pense qu’il me faut du temps pour m’en remettre émotionnellement.
Ce livre est magnifique, touchant, poignant et, en même temps, un message d’espoir. À lire vraiment !
January 28, 2020
Libro che, se non me lo avessero regalato, non avrei mai letto: argomento a me ostico per personale ignoranza e timore di "soffrire". Letto in un giorno e mezzo: fa uscire in chi legge un'emozione che forse non si crede di avere. La scrittura leggera, ma non banale, rende la lettura lieve come una passeggiata sulla spiaggia, ma anche intensa come un'onda improvvisa. Da leggere.
March 26, 2021
"Je voudrais ne plus être moi, pour quelque temps. Me reposer de ma mémoire."
I think we all should pick this up.
We need to be reminded that we are all human and we hurt the same...
I will definitely read everything that Valérie Zenatti wrote.
I think we all should pick this up.
We need to be reminded that we are all human and we hurt the same...
I will definitely read everything that Valérie Zenatti wrote.
June 11, 2018
Quelle histoire magnifique ! Je ne comprends pas pourquoi je ne l'avais pas lue avant.
J'en suis encore toute émue...
J'en suis encore toute émue...
February 6, 2022
Un libro conmovedor. En breves páginas permite conocer desde dentro la situación entre palestinos e israelíes. Es un libro esperanzador. Un libro que te hace desear, junto con sus personajes, la paz.
March 3, 2023
Best school book ever, so deep and kind of tragic but also very hopeful!
November 11, 2025
un roman terriblement d'actualité, mais qui, je trouve, montre malheureusement une vision erronée et trop simpliste du conflit.
l'idée de présenter les personnages comme les roméo et juliette modernes aurait pu être une bonne idée, mais le reste du roman transmet un jugement un peu trop manichéen à mon goût, des réflexions creuses ou idéalistes et un européanocentrisme agaçant qui tourne parfois à la propagande raciste.
bref ça reste une lecture sympa mais qui aurait mérité plus de documentations et de recherches pour vraiment être un roman important.
l'idée de présenter les personnages comme les roméo et juliette modernes aurait pu être une bonne idée, mais le reste du roman transmet un jugement un peu trop manichéen à mon goût, des réflexions creuses ou idéalistes et un européanocentrisme agaçant qui tourne parfois à la propagande raciste.
bref ça reste une lecture sympa mais qui aurait mérité plus de documentations et de recherches pour vraiment être un roman important.
January 28, 2016
I'm giving this book five stars, not merely because of the level of writing (which is quite good) but more because of the depth of the issues that Zenatti has tackled and the grace with which she tackled it.
A 17 year old Israeli girl has arranged for a bottle with a note - a grasp at peace - to be dropped into the Gaza Sea, hoping a Palestinian will find it and they can begin some sort of communication. A Palestinian does find it, and their emails to each other are scattered throughout the book. At the same time, we enter their lives - the life of a Jew in Jerusalem and of a Palestinian living on the Gaza Strip. We spent time learning a bit of each of their histories and the current circumstances they face.
What is amazing about this book is that the author doesn't paint either the Israeli or the Palestinian as the "bad guys" or "the victim." You truly get a sense that BOTH sides are injured, tired and hurting - acts of terror are being done by both sides TO both sides and it's not getting anyone anywhere. She ties in a lot of contemporary history and it makes the text feel so real and relevant, you truly get a sense for what life in that area might be like. The relationship between these two people deeps as they become aware that, in the end, they both want the same thing: for their lives to be "normal."
I wasn't thrilled with the ending at first - it stopped a bit short for me. But the more I've let it roll around in my head, the more fitting it has become. We can't expect things in the Middle East to be tied up nicely with some love and a big bow. There will be no "conclusion," probably ever, to the disagreements between these two groups of people, but that finding hope and tolerance, even in yourself, is a triumph worth celebrating.
A 17 year old Israeli girl has arranged for a bottle with a note - a grasp at peace - to be dropped into the Gaza Sea, hoping a Palestinian will find it and they can begin some sort of communication. A Palestinian does find it, and their emails to each other are scattered throughout the book. At the same time, we enter their lives - the life of a Jew in Jerusalem and of a Palestinian living on the Gaza Strip. We spent time learning a bit of each of their histories and the current circumstances they face.
What is amazing about this book is that the author doesn't paint either the Israeli or the Palestinian as the "bad guys" or "the victim." You truly get a sense that BOTH sides are injured, tired and hurting - acts of terror are being done by both sides TO both sides and it's not getting anyone anywhere. She ties in a lot of contemporary history and it makes the text feel so real and relevant, you truly get a sense for what life in that area might be like. The relationship between these two people deeps as they become aware that, in the end, they both want the same thing: for their lives to be "normal."
I wasn't thrilled with the ending at first - it stopped a bit short for me. But the more I've let it roll around in my head, the more fitting it has become. We can't expect things in the Middle East to be tied up nicely with some love and a big bow. There will be no "conclusion," probably ever, to the disagreements between these two groups of people, but that finding hope and tolerance, even in yourself, is a triumph worth celebrating.
Read
July 28, 2024Je sais pas quoi en penser. Les premiers chapitres paraissent forcés et très propagande et forcément le genre du livre ne se prête pas à la décomposition du conflit et des réelles implications humaines, politiques et militaires.
Néanmoins c’est un beau message d’espoir en quelque sorte, car il y a des passages très justes. Notamment sur qui à commencer tout ça, et le fait qu’on ai oublié. Sur le fait que les israéliens comme les palestiniens ne sont pas représentants de leur gouvernements et qu’ils ne sont pas nécessairement pour la violence que les leaders perpétuent.
Bref, moyen. Sympa sur le côté espoir mais sur le côté éducation sur le conflit c’est plus que moyen vu qu’on parle pas du tout de tous les biais (religieux, politiques, occidentaux).
Néanmoins c’est un beau message d’espoir en quelque sorte, car il y a des passages très justes. Notamment sur qui à commencer tout ça, et le fait qu’on ai oublié. Sur le fait que les israéliens comme les palestiniens ne sont pas représentants de leur gouvernements et qu’ils ne sont pas nécessairement pour la violence que les leaders perpétuent.
Bref, moyen. Sympa sur le côté espoir mais sur le côté éducation sur le conflit c’est plus que moyen vu qu’on parle pas du tout de tous les biais (religieux, politiques, occidentaux).
January 6, 2022
Un livre émouvant et magnifique. En dépit du fait que je pense que l’autrice ait égalisé la situation entre les deux camps, et qu’elle aurait dû mettre en valeur la souffrance des palestiniens, ce livre est un coup de cœur. Personnellement j’aime beaucoup les histoires d’amour et celle-ci en fait partie. De plus, la fin a été parfaitement choisie, et malgré l’inconfort que provoquent chez moi les histoires concernant les conflits mondiaux, je suis ravie d’être sortie de ma zone de confort. Je vous conseille absolument de lire ce livre.
September 9, 2018
Je termine ma lecture d’Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza, bouleversée par la tristesse et l’horreur des conflits sanglants, des attentats à la bombe et des déchirures entre Palestiniens et Israéliens. Un livre qui se dévore en quelques heures. Un livre émouvant, plein d’espoir, un désir de changer l’histoire et de croire à un monde meilleur. J’ai beaucoup aimé, je suis tentée de voir le film paru sous le même titre.
January 17, 2021
Je devais lire ce livre pour l’école et wow. Normalement, je ne m’attache pas aux romans scolaires pour une simple raison: inintéressant. Mais ce livre n’était pas comme les autres. Non seulement j'ai acquis plus de connaissances de base sur le conflit israélo-palestinien, mais j’ai aussi trouvé que c’était une lecture très agréable, avec des personnages attachants. La fin m'a fait pleurer un peu. Mais c'était des larmes de joies, sûrement.
September 7, 2018
This was a quick read, and being YA it should be. I thought it presented both sides of the conflict in Israel and gives good narratives. It tells a story and makes you feel like you know both main characters. The ending was abrupt but with a shorter YA book you must end somewhere. I would love to hear from YA readers what they think of this story.
November 6, 2025
J’ai que pleuré au dernier chapitre, je l’ai lu en quelque jours et je me suis tellement attaché à le livre que j’ai trop pleuré.
L’histoire est trop belle, les charactères, je les adore, je ne sais pas comment décrire mes sentiments pour ce livre. Il était magnifique, la relation entre les deux ados est juste trop belle.
L’histoire est trop belle, les charactères, je les adore, je ne sais pas comment décrire mes sentiments pour ce livre. Il était magnifique, la relation entre les deux ados est juste trop belle.
June 14, 2025
mi sono appena ricordata del libro che mi ha radicalizzata a 14 anni
gnegne non posso andare a ballare la sera perché ogni tanto uno si fa zompà pe aria
nel frattempo quell'altro non ha accesso a cibo e acqua
io boh
classica narrativa alla volemose bene, che riduce una strage che va avanti da più di 70 anni a un conflitto religioso
diop*rco
gnegne non posso andare a ballare la sera perché ogni tanto uno si fa zompà pe aria
nel frattempo quell'altro non ha accesso a cibo e acqua
io boh
classica narrativa alla volemose bene, che riduce una strage che va avanti da più di 70 anni a un conflitto religioso
diop*rco
July 29, 2016
I enjoyed the unusual setting of this book-- one character in Israel, one character in the Gaza Strip. As each tries to understand the other, they grow and change. I wish the book had been longer, however, more fleshed out. Nevertheless, recommended!
October 5, 2022
Ok, j’ai commencé ce livre par curiosité et au final ce livre était génial ! Une super découverte. Bien qu’il ne soit pas hyper long, il y a vraiment une super relations entre les personnages qui est bien expliquée et mise en avant. Le contenu est super et on a pas le temps de s’ennuyer .
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