This novel is written in vignettes, or micro fiction, and it is written very well. Each burst of writing adds to the story of two men, Rami, an Israeli, and Bassam, a Palestinian. Both men have lost young daughters in the conflict. Rami's daughter was killed when she was fourteen by a suicide bomber, and Bassam's daughter when she was ten outside her school by an Israeli soldier, while there was a conflict somewhere else; he shot without thinking.
The two men become friends, and travel around the world talking to groups of people about peace. The novel also intersperses bits about the history of the conflict, with the Holocaust, and birds that migrate to Israel and Palestine, and other characters in history. The word "Apeirogon," means many sided object, and this novel is indeed one of those, because it keeps turning and turning, and it becomes another section of the story every few pages.
Ms. Hen thinks this novel is emotional, and it is not for weak people. But she thinks the writing is some of the most beautiful she has read recently; the prose sings on the page, and even though the subject matter is depressing, the novel uplifts.
The novel starts describing one subject, then it stays on that subject for a while. It's almost like the book has a type of ADHD, it bounces around from different narrative to the main narrative, and back again. It's difficult to follow, if you're not a hen that can pay attention.
Ms. Hen likes the birds in this novel; even though there weren't any chickens or hen, she enjoys the descriptions of the various types of birds that migrate around Israel and Palestine.
Ms. Hen intensely enjoyed this novel. She thinks the novel captures the subject so well, and it describes the conflict with compassionate details. Ms. Hen took a long time to read this novel because it's dense, and she thinks it's meant to be read slowly, and digested. She recommends this to anyone who loves good writing, and also to people interested in this subject.
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