I hope this book gets translated into at least English because of its important documentation of the harrowing conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza. Ormestad has traveled extensively (or, as much as possible) in Gaza and has heard the tales of many of its people. The stories are captivating and, in many cases, horrifying, and they are tales that should be well known all around the world.

It's not a perfect book, though, since Ormestad insist on telling intimate details about her relationship with her partner, journalist Gideon Levy, which I am tempted to think is to elevate her own importance. I may be cynical about her reasons, but I have read an entire article of hers that simply lists names and personal nicknames of famous people she knows (through Levy) without actually saying anything at all about them.

For her book on Gaza, Ormestad has chosen a timeline which is not linear in order to juxtaposition certain poignant events, but this sometimes means that events that were not connected is made to look as if they were directly caused by each other. Ormestad's intention is obviously to aim for maximum emotional effect, so the technique works well, but someone reading the book with the historical context in mind should keep a proper timeline at hand.

There are some factual errors that I have to mention, since this is supposed to be a journalistic report; the dome of the Al-Aqsa mosque is silver, not golden (the famous golden dome belongs to the Dome of the Rock, which is located next to the mosque on the Temple Mount), which someone who has lived in Jerusalem, as Ormestad has, would definitely know. Also, she says that "shvediye" is the feminine form of "Swedish," when it actually means Sweden (the country). Neither of these are huge issues that impact the more important parts of the book, but with such glaring errors that could be so easily corrected, I wonder what other facts are wrong.

Errors aside, this is definitely a recommended read for the stories of the individual Palestinians that Ormestad comes in contact with, but I would recommend skimming or even skipping the parts where Ormestad herself shines through. ( )