Discover a New World in "Where the Desert Meets the Sea": A Novel

lexicon woman: I was born after all of this happened and all I know about this conflict comes from the media. I know no one who experienced this personally and with the conflict still raging, reading a close personal experience even though the characters are fictional makes one think.

United States on Oct 20, 2023

emmy: Apparently I know very little about the happenings in the Middle East after WWII. That the unrest continues is not new, but all the history of 1948 was never reviewed, even slightly in my education in the 60s and 70s. I do remember thinking in the 90s that most wars are fought over religion. I guess that was simplistic. The story opened my eyes like the Winds of War by Herman Wouk did. Historical Fiction can be done well.
The way this was written and translated kept me turning pages.

United States on Jul 31, 2023

john Anderson: i like the book because it’s lovely

United Kingdom on Jul 22, 2023

Alexander Loth @xlth: As a blogger who rummages in the depths of literature, I'm always on the lookout for works that dare to approach complex topics with a clear lens. And that's exactly what Werner Sonne has done in his novel, Where the Desert Meets the Sea.

This book is a masterful account of the conflict in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas from February 1947 to June 1948. By organizing the chapters by date, Sonne allows the reader to gain a sense of this significant period in history, and in the process, creates an impressive canvas of human drama and suffering.

Something that makes this book stand out is the diversity of its characters - they come from different backgrounds and religions. For example, we join Judith Wertheimer, a Holocaust survivor who is searching for her uncle Albert, and Hana, an Arab Muslim and nurse whose role in this novel is truly inspiring. Through her eyes and other protagonists, we experience the challenges posed by the conflict on a personal level.

Hadassah Hospital, a place of healing and hope where all religions are treated, also plays a significant role in the novel. In the shadow of the still-present British troops, its residents try to find...

Germany on May 28, 2023

Nikita: Here is what you should know
1. "Where the Desert Meets the Sea" is an enthralling historical fiction novel by Werner Sonne.
2. The story is set in 1937 and follows the lives of two childhood friends, Margot and Paul, who are separated when Paul's family is forced to flee from their home in Germany.
3. Margot, who is secretly in love with Paul, becomes a journalist and decides to travel to Syria where she uncovers the truth about the plight of refugees.
4. The novel is a deeply moving account of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity

India on Apr 14, 2023

Juliete Pereira: O livro começou excepcional, no meio ficou morno e terminou deixando a desejar, tendo em vista que se trata de um romance. Acredito que poderia ter fechado melhor as histórias de alguns perspnagens, ao invés de deixar muito em aberto. A ideia de começar com o pós nazismo, entretanto, foi muito boa, dando uma perspectiva diferente de tudo que já li do contexto e mostrando a continuidade dessa crueldade e interesses após a queda da Alemnaha. Ainda, foi muito bom ver os efeitos de uma decisão internacional da ONU que não considerou as perspectivas culturais e religiosas dos povos. De qualquer forma, já dá uma boa ideia do contexto e como a situação crítica entre Árabes e judeus começou e continua até hoje, apesar do autor deixar claro que não se trata de um livro histórico (mas tem base em várias pesquisas históricas que aparecem no final? Vai entender). Mas ok, vale a pena ler, só não se anime muito. ;)

Brazil on Apr 13, 2023

Sandra: Brilliant writing and amazingly translated to grammatical perfection. I honestly don't think I saw one single typo or error. What did I see? I saw sadness, so, so much sadness between various cultures and religious groups, with such a determination within each group to claim what they felt was rightfully theirs. As the author is not Muslim, Jewish or Arab, he did an excellent job of portraying each faction fairly within the story, as well as documenting the part the British army played during the uprisings in Palestine in 1947, post World War 11.

Because the story contains so much historical facts, it was sometimes rather heavy reading, but the fictional characters, their love and care for each other, the sweet romances between Hana and David, Uri, Yael and Judith were beautifully done, and the poignant friendship between Hana and Judith and Judith and Tamar was also touching. The hate, anger and bitterness shown by Youssef also seemed very true to character.

An excellent read, my first one by this author, which I know will stay in my mind for a long time.

Canada on Jul 01, 2022

Glynn Young: Judith Wertheimer is arriving in Israel. Like many of her fellow survivors of the Holocaust, she’s arriving at night, in darkness, aboard a ship smuggling Jews into Palestine. It’s February 1947; the British Mandate still exists but Britain’s days of control are numbered. And then, who knows what will happen?

The British discover the smuggler ship: Judith jumps into the cold sea to get ashore. She’s desperate to find her one remaining relative, an uncle who emigrated to Palestine in the 1930s. When she discovers he’s recently died, she tries to take her own life and is taken to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. She needs a blood transfusion, and a nurse has a matching blood type – an Arab nurse. Juditch will later return the same favor to the nurse.

Thus begins “Where the Desert Meets the Sea,” the novel by Werner Sonne that tells the story of the people involved in Israel’s fight for independence in 1947 and 1948. It’s a story filled with tension, death, hatred, determination, and love, and Sonne tells it well through the lives of Judith; Uri, the Israeli freedom fighter whom Judith falls in love with; Hana, the Arab nurse who is...

United States on May 20, 2019

Serenity...: As usual, my decision for the First Read book for this month, was an easy one for me. I have been reading novels/books around the WW II time frame recently. This one covers the conflict in Jerusalem and surrounding areas during the period from February 1947 to June of 1948. The chapters are divided by dates so the reader gets an understanding of that period.

Characters are of diverse backgrounds and religions. Judith Wertheimer has arrived on a ship that was full of survivors of the Holocaust. She is in search of her Uncle Albert. As the blurb for this novel states, she is a Jewish survivor of Dachau. Hana is a nurse of Arab Muslim faith and her role in this novel is amazing. (Judith and Hana were two of my favorites in this novel).

Through the pages of this novel, the reader will also become acquainted with Uri Rabinovich and Dr. David Cohen from the Hadassah Hospital. This hospital treats all religions and is an important part of this, as well. The British troops are still there and the characters are wondering what will happen when they withdraw.

As one might expect, this has more than its share of death, destruction and despair...on all sides. The human...

United States on Apr 01, 2019