I came to this book by Algerian author Yasmina Khadra (Mohammed Moulessehoul) after setting aside two other books featuring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One was a fictional account written from a biased perspective, and the other was a well-written but lengthy journalist memoir of his days covering the conflict. So, it's no wonder how my third choice turned out to be a charm. It is a well told fictional story about a Palestinian-Israeli surgeon who is a naturalized citizen, whose wife's remains are identified as the suicide bomber that blew up a cafe during a children's party in Tel Aviv.
The story follows the unbelieving and devastated doctor as he battles through discovering who, what, where, when, and how his humble, homemaker wife could possibly have done what authorities accuse her of doing. It is painful traveling along with the good yet broken doctor as he slowly tries piecing together the puzzle of his beautiful wife's alleged ties to a terrorist attack. As a reader sharing in the doctor's numbing pain and shocking loss, you almost feel him justified in wanting to drown himself in depression. It would take withstanding more shock and pain, along with newly added doses of anger and hatred, before the good doctor embarks on a perilous journey toward discovery of the worse kind.
Captain Moshe: "I, too, was married to a beautiful woman, Dr. Jaafari. She was the pride of my life. It took me seven years to discover that she was hiding from me the most important information a man should have about his wife's fidelity."
Dr. Jaafari: "My wife had no reason to deceive me."
(excerpt from The Attack by Yasmina Khadra - page 41)
I enjoyed how the author skillfully paints every character you encounter with just enough coloring so you know the type of person being presented. Whether they be relative or stranger, friend or foe, the persons you meet in the book are exactly who they appear to be. It is only one person, the doctor's wife Sihem, whose character alludes you. We never meet her face to face but others, mostly the doctor himself, share their impressions of who she was and who she might have become.
The author gives a taste of poetic writing with descriptions of the mediterranean weather, evening skies, desert winds and such. He paints a sweeping canvas with authentic landscapes to match the peoples and their land. The doctor's memories of an idyllic childhood, running through orchards and along hills on his grandfather's land, showcase examples of the author's descriptive writing skills.
The flip side of such beautiful writing includes descriptions of prejudice, oppression, dispossession, and a military occupation that destroys the homes and hopes of a native community. Descriptions of children maneuvering around and through war-torn rubble, avoiding snipers and other deadly instruments of war.
The story shares the beauty of family heritage and tradition while trying desperately to survive the ugliness and devastation of war. There is a message in some of the madness depicted. Without preaching, the story shows what can drive an oppressed people to adopt a "by any means necessary" approach to resistance.
As readers are driven to question just how well the good doctor knew his wife Sihem, another question comes to mind. How much of his own dignity and heritage had the good doctor sacrificed to become a naturalized Israeli citizen and successful surgeon in Tel Aviv. What is the price of acceptance one pays to live, work, and mingle amongst those who might abhor your naturalized presence and success. And what price must you pay to return to your homeland and see the devastation and hopelessness, then look your peoples in the eye with a shame that cuts deeper than any scalpel. These are some of the thoughts this brutally honest and insightful story left me with. And I am better informed because of it.
I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a suspenseful, literary read with a poetic touch and brutally, eye-opening revelation. There are children on both sides of this conflict whose lives are blown to bits. We who have survived childhood must make sure all children following us have a chance.
Give Peace a Chance!
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