Les fils d'Abraham

by Marek Halter

Devant Jérusalem dont la splendeur s'offre à lui, Hugo Halter, un jour de printemps 1961, est abattu par des terroristes palestiniens. Pourquoi ?... Son cousin Marek – l'auteur même de ce livre – mène l'enquête. Au nom de la longue lignée qui n'a cessé de maintenir vivante la mémoire d'Abraham , depuis l'ancêtre fuyant Jérusalem livrée aux flammes par les romains jusqu'à cet autre Abraham qui succombe en combattant dans les ruines du ghetto de Varsovie. Parallèlement, un autre cousin de Hugo, officier des services secrets israéliens, conduit sa propre enquête.
Alors, de tous les points du monde, de New York à Moscou, de Paris à Buenos Aires, de Tunis à Beyrouth, entrent en scène les membres de la famille dispersée, soudainement rassemblés, tendus vers un même but, qu'ils soient athées religieux, assimilés, sionistes ou pacifistes.
Et c'est ainsi que se déploie, superbement, la grande fresque du judaïsme contemporain – dans ses élans, ses victoires, ses contradictions et ses déchirements – que Marek Halter rêvait de peindre depuis La mémoire d'Abraham.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, France

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Marek Halter was born in Poland in 1936. During World War II, he and his parents narrowly escaped from the Warsaw ghetto. After a time in Russia and Uzbekistan, they emigrated to France in 1950. There Halter studied pantomime with Marcel Marceau and embarked on a career as a painter that led to several international exhibitions. In 1967, he founded the International Committee for a Negotiated Peace Agreement in the Near East and played a crucial role in the organization of the first official meetings between Palestinians and Israelis.

In the 1970s, Marek Halter turned to writing. He first published The Madman and the Kings, which was awarded the Prix Aujourd’hui in 1976. He is also the author of several internationally acclaimed, bestselling historical novels, including The Messiah, The Mysteries of Jerusalem, The Book of Abraham, which won the Prix du Livre Inter, and Sarah, the first of the Canaan trilogy, and Lilah, the concluding one.

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This historical fiction book is a sequel to The Book of Abraham, following the history of the same Jewish family from where The Book of Abraham left off around WWII. Not as impressive to me as the first book; for one thing, it does not cover the huge time range of the first. But, good to read if you enjoyed The Book of Abraham and want to know what happens next. Fun for me because the author is a distant relative of mine; one of my grandparent's surnames is Halter and, from the books, and articles about the author that came out around the time of the publication of these books, I was able to ascertain when our sections of the family diverged and how we are related.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very confusing book. I’m not sure where the fiction of the novel begins or where the autobiography of the author ends. Many chapters of the book conclude with a description of Marek’s own life during the time of the narrative. Like the real-life Marek, the Marek in the book is a left-leaning political journalist living in Paris.
I had not read the prequel, “The Book of Abraham,” which other reviewers say was a much better book. It would have been helpful if Halter included a summary of that book and a family tree.
This is basically the story of the unsolved murder of Marek’s relative, Hugo Halter, at the hands of the Palestinians. After his tribulations during WWII, Hugo becomes a haunted soul “trapped by his desire for peace.” As such, he meets with Israelis, Palestinians, Russians and Americans. And we get a tragic look at the extended Halter family. But the full story of Hugo Halter does not become clear until the final chapters of the book. I felt the reader should have been brought along on the evolving story sooner.

[Afrijewel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an easy read but the writing format not my favorite. This book is not comparable to the Book of Abraham which in my opinion was fantastic, insightful, and a page turner. Whereas, the Children of Abraham has socialist and communist driven content. Then the story line jumps around seeming like a mystery and thriller exposé. Nonetheless, I found it challenging to keep up with the events as well as characters and connecting them to each chapter. I suppose that was the intent. I would not recommend this book.

[Fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointed. Nothing like The Book of Abraham that I thought was great. Sad. Demoralizing. Sorry I read it.