Book No. 41 of 2021
Somewhat eerie that after I thought, “I want to read something that helps me contextualize the Israel-Palestine conflict,” I opened this book without knowing what it was about.
Shibli’s prose is very sparse and stark, and captures both the mundanity of conflict as well as the tragic anonymity of violence. There’s a haunting sense of futility shot through the entire novel, with the creeping awareness that so many stories are and will remain forever lost to us.
The “I got a 5 on the AP English Lit exam” part of me was absolutely squirming to raise my hand and discuss the way the author balanced the two halves of the book with parallel symbolism, neatly demonstrating the way that the present is never fully divorced from the past.
Similar Reads
I had many flashbacks to Phil Klay’s Missionaries, which also examines the way militarized violence in “forever war” regions erases stories and leaves lingering trauma.
The bifurcated story, along with the way the two halves of the book are linked, reminded me of the structure of Susan Choi’s Trust Exercise.