Review: A culturally rich story of forbidden love
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2014
The Heart's Melody is a moving story of forbidden love and soul-searching. Noa is reflective, emotional, and reveals her innermost fears and shames through the first-person perspective the novel employs. The cultures of Israel and Palestine are contrasted and pitted against each other in this love story, and the characters surrounding the lovers echo both their internal thoughts and the perspectives of society around them.As a Westerner, this story brought new perspective for me as well on the inhabitants of these war-torn countries; while Noa and Amar face some difficulties unique to their cultural divide, they also have many familiar differences and conflicts that occur in relationships without the cultural barrier. I won't ruin the end of the book, but suffice it to say there is more to learn from this story than initially meets the eye. At its core, it is about the growth and change of this woman in a world full of strife and uncertainty.