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A review by tumblyhome_caroline
Apeirogon by Colum McCann
5.0
I have tried to understand all the complexities of the Israel/Palestine conflict so many times. I have watched documentaries, read books (or tried to find one that clarifies it) and spoken to people more closely involved.....but it still seems a labyrinth of nuances.
This book, however, taking two men, Bassam and Rami, who have lost daughters, has just opened my eyes to the nature of conflict and the strength it takes to come together with an enemy. I realised I had been looking at it all from the completely wrong angle and Apeirogon succeeded where broader and more detailed historical accounts have failed. It is about living in a conflicted world where everyone tells you that only black and white exists. It is about spirals of hatred...It is about empathy and grief, hope and humanity. It is also about how difficult it can be for men to find a way to grieve.
I very much enjoyed Marchpanes review of this book (here on Goodreads), where she likens the effect of reading this book to walking through a quiet space, a museum, a shrine or an art installation. This is exactly how it is. Each small chapter (like an exhibit) caused me to pause and bundle up an new level of understanding or emotion and to place it somewhere inside me forever.
I totally loved this book. The daughters who were lost, Abir and Smadar, shine through. Their lives and tragic ends are stories that should never be forgotten.
The short chapters are so beautiful, some a whole story in a single paragraph, some telling stories that seem unconnected to the broader themes of the book but then later do lock into place perfectly and some that are so painful to read, the accounts by Bassam and Rami of the loss of their daughters. I will always be pleased I read this because it has really touched my heart.
If I had to say something negative I would say that the last quarter did wander off a bit and could have been more impactful if shortened. The end was perfect though.
Abir and Smadar deserve their story told and retold and told again.
https://parentscirclefriends.org/encounter/
This book, however, taking two men, Bassam and Rami, who have lost daughters, has just opened my eyes to the nature of conflict and the strength it takes to come together with an enemy. I realised I had been looking at it all from the completely wrong angle and Apeirogon succeeded where broader and more detailed historical accounts have failed. It is about living in a conflicted world where everyone tells you that only black and white exists. It is about spirals of hatred...It is about empathy and grief, hope and humanity. It is also about how difficult it can be for men to find a way to grieve.
I very much enjoyed Marchpanes review of this book (here on Goodreads), where she likens the effect of reading this book to walking through a quiet space, a museum, a shrine or an art installation. This is exactly how it is. Each small chapter (like an exhibit) caused me to pause and bundle up an new level of understanding or emotion and to place it somewhere inside me forever.
I totally loved this book. The daughters who were lost, Abir and Smadar, shine through. Their lives and tragic ends are stories that should never be forgotten.
The short chapters are so beautiful, some a whole story in a single paragraph, some telling stories that seem unconnected to the broader themes of the book but then later do lock into place perfectly and some that are so painful to read, the accounts by Bassam and Rami of the loss of their daughters. I will always be pleased I read this because it has really touched my heart.
If I had to say something negative I would say that the last quarter did wander off a bit and could have been more impactful if shortened. The end was perfect though.
Abir and Smadar deserve their story told and retold and told again.
https://parentscirclefriends.org/encounter/