The Palestinian return is never as envisaged. For Palestinian poet and author Hussein Barghouthi, his struggle with cancer prompted a return to Palestine from his “voluntary exile” after 30 years, as he describes his absence due to studies and work. Among the Almond Trees: A Palestinian Memoir (Seagull Books, 2022) is a literary narration of a return that is marred by the author’s impending death. Commencing with Barghouthi’s visit to the hospital in Ramallah at the time of the Second Intifada, he ponders his presence amid “the martyred and the wounded”, almost as if realising that his identity in the current political situation is somewhat lost. READ: Israel prevents Hussein Al-Sheikh from meeting imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti Yet the … Continue reading Among the Almond Trees: A Palestinian Memoir