Ramallah before
Mourid describes Ramallah before his departure for Cairo. It is described as a true community. His family is embedded in their community and Mourid's life is involved in the lives of those around him. When he decides to go to university, he describes this decision as a difficult one, because he loves the town and his daily life among the scenery and people there. He describes the cozy home he used to know and the streets he used to walk.
Cairo
For Mourid, Cairo starts as one kind of experience and changes. At first, he goes through the normal season of adjustment that comes with a big move. Cairo is far more urban that Ramallah, and he doesn't really know anyone. His experience is kind of lonely, but he is at university, so that helps. But then he hears the news from Palestine and learns his home town has seen a horrible war, and suddenly, Cairo feels like a trap. He serves his exile in Cairo, because trying to go home, but the government won't let him back in. Cairo becomes a kind of Purgatory.
Exile imagery
Mourid's life goes from something he understands, a journey to university to get a degree and a better life, to something he doesn't understand. He becomes an exile, and his experience reflects the adjustment that comes as he learns that it might be a long time before he gets to go home. At first, he holds out, but eventually, he has to set his roots somewhere. In the end the exile lasts thirty years, long enough for his return to be surreal and confusing.
The return to Ramallah
Mourid's return to Ramallah is the primary imagery of the novel, as the title suggests. The point of his return is to bear witness of his home, to have what he feels is his by right—the right to commune with his family and mourn the death and horror of the war that happened in Ramallah. He sees the ruins of the town he used to know, and he hears the stories of his family. He mourns with them and mourns the time he has been away. He tries to get closure through the experience of home imagery.
