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Yasmina Khadra: The Attack

Dogmatix

New Member
The Attack - Yasmina Khadra

Picked this one up on impulse, and I'm pretty excited to read it. Has anyone read it?
I just put it on the top of the TTBR (that's the Towering To Be Read:D )

Khadra, the pseudonym of Mohammed Moulessehoul, an exiled Algerian writer celebrated for his politically themed fiction (The Swallows of Kabul), turns his attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this moving novel unlikely to satisfy partisans on either side of the issue. Dr. Amin Jaafari is a man caught between two worlds; he's a Bedouin Arab surgeon struggling to integrate himself into Israeli society. The balancing act becomes impossible when the terrorist responsible for a suicide bombing that claims 20 lives, including many children, is identified as Jaafari's wife by the Israeli police. Jaafari's disbelief that his secular, loving spouse committed the atrocity is overcome when he receives a letter from her posthumously. In an effort to make sense of her decision, Jaafari plunges into the Palestinian territories to discover the forces that recruited her. Khadra, who nicely captures his hero's turmoil in trying to come to terms with the endless violence, closes on an appropriately grim note.
 
Finished up last night. I'll give this book an "okay". There are some jewels to be read but some of the book is mediocre. The very first scene is a startlingly beautiful description of a bombing which starts the book off well. The premise of the story is great. I think the book falls just a bit short in the writing, it's not always excellent or poetic, something which I reallly enjoy in a book.

The book does fair justice to the character's struggles (and helped me to understand a little of why extremists feel the way they do). It's certainly not one sided. I just wished the writing was a bit better. Maybe that's because I just finished read Irving's The World According to Garp and I just love Irving.

The book ends on a clever and stirring note.

I would recommend this book as an enjoyable read, but it's not a masterpiece. However, I would read this author again.
 
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