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In The Way to the Spring, Ben Ehrenreich describes the cruel mechanics of the Israeli occupation and the endless absurdities and tragedies it engenders: the complex and humiliating machinery of the checkpoints, walls, courts, and prisons; the steady, strangling loss of land; the constant ebb and flow of deadly violence. Blending political and historical context with the personal stories of the people he meets, Ehrenreich records the extremes to which Palestinians are pushed, the daily deprivation and oppression that they face, and the strategies they construct to resist and survive—stoicism, resignation, rebellion, humor, and a stubborn, defiant joy.
Since its publication in June, The Way to the Spring has been widely praised. Rajah Shehadeh called it “a superbly intelligent, informative and critical book”; Adam Shatz called it “a freedom song, burning with humanity”; and, writing in The Guardian, Yasmine El Rashidi lauded it as a “chillingly beautiful, albeit heartbreaking, chronicle of Palestinian life in the West Bank.”
Cosponsors
Columbia Journalism School
The Heyman Center for the Humanities
Ben Ehrenreich is the author of two earlier books, the novels Ether and The Suitors. His writing has appeared in Harper's, the New York Times Magazine and the London Review of Books, among many other publications. A recipient of the National Magazine Award, he lives in California.
Colm Tóibín is the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University.
Check out Colm's website!