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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I feel like if I have to read about current events, a novel is not the right format.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is an incredibly sad and important book. The sometimes staccato chapters or many names for an item or place make the audiobook perhaps a little less enjoyable. I get why the author used that tool.
It’s a novel but also it’s true. Based on real people and the real deaths (murders) of their daughters. Whew. So many truths are spoken in this book. There are people I’d want to read it, people who don’t want to see the humanity of “the other.”
There are some nuances and frustrations described so perfectly in this book that I just want people to read it.
It’s a novel but also it’s true. Based on real people and the real deaths (murders) of their daughters. Whew. So many truths are spoken in this book. There are people I’d want to read it, people who don’t want to see the humanity of “the other.”
There are some nuances and frustrations described so perfectly in this book that I just want people to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence
Haunting, and amazing how Colum takes a current story of two men that each lost a daughter and interweaves with history of the region. A tightening ring, the pressure builds and there’s always another side to consider.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I wanted to read about Palestinian stories but because of current events and the way I keep up with the news, I couldn’t stomach reading this too.
Beautifully written. Meandering, but a powerful way to tell a heartbreaking story. Recommend the audio narration.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Colum McCann's Apeirogon is a stunning example of creative nonfiction. This book grips you from the very beginning and never lets you go.
Its core is the heart destroying loss of two fathers. Bassam Aramin is Palestinian, born in a cave in Hebron.
At 17 he is imprisoned in an Israeli jail. Released seven years later, he begins a journey that leads him to renounce violence, to study the Holocaust, and to meet secretly with the enemy, in a group called Combatants for Peace.
In 2007 his ten-year old daughter Abir is shot in the back of her head on her way to school. She dies a few days later.
Rami Elhanan is a successful graphic designer. As a young Israeli he served in three wars.
Afterwards, he just wanted a family and an easy life.
In 1997 his 13-year-old daughter Smadar is blown up in a suicide attack, shopping in downtown Jerusalem with a girlfriend.
The two men will meet in the Parents Circle, a group of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones through political violence. After many difficult conversations, they will become friends and advocates for peace.
"It's a tragedy that we need to continually prove that we are human beings. Not only to the Israelis, but also for other Arabs, our brothers and sisters, to the Americans, to the Chinese, the Europeans. Why is that? Do I not look human? Do I not bleed human?"
War needs enemy images. To make fellow humans into non-humans, so they can be killed without guilt, without shame. This book destroys enemy images.
Please read it.
Its core is the heart destroying loss of two fathers. Bassam Aramin is Palestinian, born in a cave in Hebron.
At 17 he is imprisoned in an Israeli jail. Released seven years later, he begins a journey that leads him to renounce violence, to study the Holocaust, and to meet secretly with the enemy, in a group called Combatants for Peace.
In 2007 his ten-year old daughter Abir is shot in the back of her head on her way to school. She dies a few days later.
Rami Elhanan is a successful graphic designer. As a young Israeli he served in three wars.
Afterwards, he just wanted a family and an easy life.
In 1997 his 13-year-old daughter Smadar is blown up in a suicide attack, shopping in downtown Jerusalem with a girlfriend.
The two men will meet in the Parents Circle, a group of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones through political violence. After many difficult conversations, they will become friends and advocates for peace.
"It's a tragedy that we need to continually prove that we are human beings. Not only to the Israelis, but also for other Arabs, our brothers and sisters, to the Americans, to the Chinese, the Europeans. Why is that? Do I not look human? Do I not bleed human?"
War needs enemy images. To make fellow humans into non-humans, so they can be killed without guilt, without shame. This book destroys enemy images.
Please read it.