Reviewer: Alan Chin
Publisher: Owl
Canyon Press (July, 2013)
Pages: 300
Timothy Smith has written a gripping tale of love and hate
that is set in the Middle East. A terrorist threat for Easter Sunday in
Jerusalem sets off a chain of events that weave together the lives of an
American journalist, an Israeli war hero, a Palestinian farmer, and an Arab-Christian
grocer.
Major Jakov Levy closes the boarder between Israel and the
Gaza Strip when he is alerted to a suicide bomb plot. With the closing, Amin
Mousa is unable to get his produce to market, so he dumps truckloads of
tomatoes in a refugee camp. David Kessler, an American journalist, uses his
press identification badge to cross the boarder and drive into Gaza for Amin's
story.
Hamas militants plot to hide a bomb in David's car and
retrieve it when he returns to Jerusalem, but he's unexpectedly detoured on the
way. Meanwhile, a Hamas cell member confesses to the plot, and the race is on
to find David and retrieve the bomb before the terrorists can.
The author has penned an ambitious and gripping story from
several points of view while keeping the writing unbiased and compassionate. It
shows the volatile grudge match that characterizes the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict from all sides and perspectives. Unbiased does not mean the story is
flat, far from it. This is an emotional rollercoaster from first page to last.
This story is told from many different characters’ points
of view, which its strength, and also it’s downfall. The narrative switches
points of view every few pages (sometimes twice per page) over a wide array of
characters. It is interesting to see the story from all sides, yet, I often
found it confusing trying to keep track of so many players, and because so
little time was spent on each one, none of them were able to reach the depth
that I had hoped for. These characters were far from one dimensional, but I
expected more from the four protagonists.
This is not an easy story to read, both from an emotional
standpoint and a technical one. The author has a lean and edgy prose style that
I enjoyed, yet I found it jarring each time he switched from past to present
tense and back, which was often. I also found it jarring to switch points of
view so often. This is a modern style of writing that an old dog like me has
yet to appreciate.
The author ends the story on a symbol of hope for the
future, yet I failed to feel that hope. What I was left with was the tragedy
and futility caused by the constant collateral damage in cultures where hate is
allowed to flourish.
I do recommend this read. It is an enthralling tale, which
shines a light on the issues of that precarious region, told by an author who
had lived there and experienced it first hand.
