Wild Thorns

Wild Thorns (Arabic: الصبار, romanized: Al-Subar, lit. 'The Cactus') is a Palestinian novel written by Sahar Khalifeh that was first published in Arabic in 1976 by Galileo Limited. Interlink International Books translated it into English in 1985. The novel portrays the lives of Palestinians under Israeli occupation in the town of Nablus in 1972 by closely following the lives of cousins who have drastically different experiences under the occupation. The Arabic title of the novel means 'prickly pears' and indicates the sweetness at the center of something that appears to be harsh and dangerous.