Apeirogon

This was unexpected and hugely powerful. I received this as part of the Goldsboro Books book of the month club, so it was a bit out of my usual reading sphere.

The word Apeirogon refers to a shape with a countably infinite number of sides, a fact that is strongly alluded to throughout this book - it is almost circular but ultimately multifaceted, like the conflict at the heart of the story. The book itself takes the form of a series of 1001 short vignettes, usually only a few paragraphs long if not shorter highlighting aspects of life in Israel and the West Bank, focusing in on two families who have both lost a daughter to the violence there, one Israeli and one Palestinian. The symbology and meaning behind each little snippet is always clever and gives added power to what is being told. The contrasts and little details on the day to day life of both Israelis and Palestinians are both brutal and sympathetic.

This is ultimately a critique of the status quo in Israel at the moment, the ultimate message is that the occupation itself is destroying the very peace it is trying to achieve. The two central stories are based on real stories, of Smadar and Abir, both of whom were teenagers killed whilst innocently going about their daily lives. The grief and anger present in the story is all very real, and the sense of forgiveness powerful.

This is a brutal and beautiful book. A series of contrasts that give a look into the vicious circle that is currently being enacted in the middle east, whilst at the same time giving a hope for a way out.