In "A day in the life of Abed Salama" I was transported into the heart of Jerusalem, where the boundaries of love, loss and resilience are tested in the face of adversity. I did not realize this was a true story until the end, when the narrator mentions it. The story details the lives of Abed and different individuals that were affected, and helped, during the tragedy of a school bus crash. Authored with meticulous detail, this narrative brings to life the daily struggles of Palestinian families living in the restricted areas of the city, painting a vivid picture of their daily challenges.
At the core of the story lies Abed Salama, a resilient Palestinian whose life unfolds against the backdrop of political tensions and societal constraints. The narrative delves into Abed's rebellious teenage years, shedding light on his experiences growing up amidst conflict and uncertainty. It is in these pages that that we are introduced to the complexities of life within the divided city, where every moment is overshadowed by the looming presence of walls and checkpoints.
The narrative takes a heart-wrenching turn when Abed's son, Milad Salama, becomes a victim of a tragic incident during a school trip to a theme park. The horrifying bus accident leaves the children and their teachers, severely burnt and unrecognizable, the lives of these families completely altered in a moment of chaos and despair. The hospitals of the West Bank and Jerusalem become a battleground of pain and confusion as parents search for their children among the victims. This incident becomes a stark representation of the senseless brutality of conflict, leaving me shaken to the core.
Among the chaos, Abed Salama's struggle to locate his son emerges a central thread of the narrative, Faced with insurmountable bureaucratic hurdles and hindered by his status as a Palestinian with the wrong color ID, Abed battles the labyrinthine checkpoints, embodying the frustrations and despair of countless individuals trapped on the wrong side of the wall. His desperate journey becomes a powerul metaphor for the larger struggle faced by Palestinians in their quest to identity, dignity and the right to a peaceful existence.

This book seemed even more poignant at this time when Israel and Palestine are at war with each other.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

I didn’t finish this book so I won’t give a rating. I stopped at 30% because it ended up taking too much time to building up to the main subject of the book.

It began with a brief account of the wreck and Abed’s desire to find his son, then begins building the backstory of his life.

The backstory, before I stopped listening, consists of Abed’s criminal life and his relationships with women. I didn’t continue, not knowing how long this would last.

People who are interested in Muslim marriage customs and laws may be interested in this book. It just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Thanks to Macmillian Audio, and Nathan Thrall for the ARC via NetGalley.

I knew that this book was based on real events, but I didn't realize until the end of the book when I got to the author's note that this book is not a work of fiction and that all the characters are real just with a few name changes. That makes the story even more heartbreaking. I loved the way the book introduced characters and then gave background information about the Israel/Palestine conflict. This was a really powerful book for not being that long and I learned a lot. I teach kindergarten and I couldn't help but think that that bus was full of kids like I teach. I cannot imagine the horror the parents had to go through navigating the convoluted system of IDs and checkpoints while trying to find if their child had survived or not. Excellent book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this audiobook for review purposes. All opinions are my own.