In a journey to a once distant place, Mohamed Al-Ashri takes us in his third novel, "Desert Apple", to the area of El Alamein and its surrounding Arab desert. The name El Alamein immediately conjures up its famous battle that shifted the balance during the most critical stages of the Second World War. This novel is closely linked to that era of modern history.

I found several distinctive elements in this short novel. Firstly, it operates on two levels: the present, with an oil company undertaking a joint investment project to explore extraction possibilities, and the past, concerning the events of the world war and their impact on this area. There are various links between these timelines, such as 'Sheikh Abdul Rahman', who was young during the war, with his son working among the geologists. Alongside this human connection, there are the war remnants: the renowned cemetery of Allied soldiers and its Italian caretaker, 'Chiudini', assisted by Abdul Rahman.

Furthermore, there's the memorial ordered by 'Rommel' for one of his skilled pilots. More significant than these are the terrifying minefields, the deadly desert apples. Here lies the largest minefield globally, 'Buwayrat Field', situated 250 kilometers east of Tripoli. It was planted by 'Montgomery' with 150,000 mines, constantly poised to explode, barring footsteps, trembling the ground beneath stray animals, and scattering their remains over the sands..

Publishing house: الدار العربية للعلوم/لبنان Number of Pages : 88 Year of publication : 2007