What do you think?
Rate this book
Sabra Zoo
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book for Europe and South Asia.
"A stunning, defiant debut."—Guardian
"Hiller brings to his works not only a craftsman's skill but also a compassion for his characters that proves infectious."—Haaretz
"A chilling rites-of-passage novel set in Beirut in 1982 during the killings in the camps."—The Economist
It is the summer of 1982 and Beirut is under siege. Eighteen-year-old Ivan's parents have just been evacuated from the city with other members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Ivan stays on, interpreting for international medical volunteers in Sabra refugee camp and working undercover for the PLO. Hoping to get closer to Eli, a Norwegian physiotherapist, he helps her treat Youssef, a camp orphan disabled by a cluster bomb. An unexpected friendship develops between the three and things begin to look up.
But events take a nasty turn when the president-elect is assassinated. The Israeli army enters Beirut and surrounds the camp, with Eli and Youssef trapped inside. What happens next makes international headlines and leaves Ivan scrabbling to salvage something positive from the chaos.
Mischa Hiller, of English–Palestinian descent, was born in England in 1962 and grew up in London, Dar es Salaam, and Beirut. Mischa won the 2009 European Independent Film Festival script competition for his adaptation of Sabra Zoo. He lives with his family in Cambridge, England.
"A stunning, defiant debut."—Guardian
"Hiller brings to his works not only a craftsman's skill but also a compassion for his characters that proves infectious."—Haaretz
"A chilling rites-of-passage novel set in Beirut in 1982 during the killings in the camps."—The Economist
It is the summer of 1982 and Beirut is under siege. Eighteen-year-old Ivan's parents have just been evacuated from the city with other members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Ivan stays on, interpreting for international medical volunteers in Sabra refugee camp and working undercover for the PLO. Hoping to get closer to Eli, a Norwegian physiotherapist, he helps her treat Youssef, a camp orphan disabled by a cluster bomb. An unexpected friendship develops between the three and things begin to look up.
But events take a nasty turn when the president-elect is assassinated. The Israeli army enters Beirut and surrounds the camp, with Eli and Youssef trapped inside. What happens next makes international headlines and leaves Ivan scrabbling to salvage something positive from the chaos.
Mischa Hiller, of English–Palestinian descent, was born in England in 1962 and grew up in London, Dar es Salaam, and Beirut. Mischa won the 2009 European Independent Film Festival script competition for his adaptation of Sabra Zoo. He lives with his family in Cambridge, England.
231 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2010
6 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Mischa Hiller
8 books27 followersAuthor of Sabra Zoo, Shake Off and Disengaged. Mischa was a semifinalist in the 2007 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting and winner of the 2009 European Independent Film Festival script competition for his adaptation of Sabra Zoo. Sabra Zoo was winner of the Commonwealth Writer’s 2011 First Book prize (Europe & South Asia region).
He has had several short stories published, which can be found on [Medium](http://medium.com/@mischahi@blank)
He is published by Telegram in the UK and Mulholland Books in North America.
Disengaged is published in the UK and the US by Severn House Books.
He has had several short stories published, which can be found on [Medium](http://medium.com/@mischahi@blank)
He is published by Telegram in the UK and Mulholland Books in North America.
Disengaged is published in the UK and the US by Severn House Books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 20, 2021
"Maybe you couldn’t fix things in one place without fixing them everywhere."
'Fair-skinned people in trouble equated to front-page news at home. I looked to Samir but he was standing back, hadn’t come up to the Israeli position. I realised that he’d never stood this close to an Israeli soldier. Perhaps he didn’t trust himself.
‘What about helping the locals?’ said Bob, in a calmer voice, but his question was lost in a barrage of questions about the foreign workers.
"Local radio said that the IDF had occupied the whole of west Beirut and spoke of heroic resistance. I found the BBC World Service. They led on Grace Kelly, saying she’d died from her injuries. Then they spoke of Beirut and an IDF spokesman said that ‘2,000 PLO terrorists’ remained in Beirut and they were determined to root them out.
On the screen Israeli tanks rumbled forward down the main Hamra Street followed by edgy-looking troops pointing their guns at the balconies above them. They were ignoring the bystanders, mainly women, standing with
crossed arms as if watching a boring military parade. One elderly woman was shouting something at the passing tanks. tanks.
‘She says they’re cowards to come in now that the fighters have left, that Beirut has had enough foreigners in it, that they should go home, that there’s nothing left to destroy but women and children, etcetera, etcetera,’
an army who couldn’t or wouldn’t enter the city when it was full of fighters but now patrolled its streets as if victorious was no army in their view. nothing. ‘They knew what was going on,’ he said, pointing to the Israeli headquarters behind him by way of clarification. It was ‘they’, not ‘we’, I noticed.
‘ Tell us, what’s the situation in the camp?’ Her face was
full of concern. I wanted to tell them what I’d seen: the bodies in the street, the ones buried under the rubble, the mutilations, the children, the rape, the eviscerations. I didn’t know how to tell it or where to begin.
Asha was wondering aloud whether the massacre would be a turning point for the Palestinians, whether the world would do something to tackle the problem. John just shrugged his shoulders, swirling whisky around in his glass. It was Samir that spoke.
‘It wasn’t just Palestinians killed in the camp, it was Lebanese too. Maybe 25 per cent of them, maybe more, but we’ll never know. They were only poor uneducated Lebanese, so no one will worry.’
‘It’s the same for the Palestinians. Do you think any educated or rich Palestinians died in the camp? Do you think any PLO cadres were there? No, only Faris and his friends were stupid enough to be there."
‘Then Faris is gone for no reason,’ she said harshly.
‘Faris is gone, probably dead, because he tried to defend the camp; he wanted to do the right thing which was the stupid thing. But he
has wasted his life for nothing, the camp could not be defended by such a small number of fighters. It was a foolish gesture.’
To me, Faris was a hero and a martyr, words that I felt had been devalued over the years by too many deaths. Faris was someone who I could only hope to look up to rather than aspire to be like.
‘Faris was a hero,’ I said, blushing. ‘Because he did the only thing he knew, which was to try and defend those people.’
‘After the massacre I thought nothing would be the same,’ I said. ‘Nothing seemed to matter any more. I didn’t think life would carry on as normal, that people would just go back to work or school. I didn’t understand how it was possible to carry on as if nothing had happened.’
‘Everything has to carry on, Ivan. You can either lie down and die or you can carry on. It’s a choice you make.’
I nodded. I’d believed that anything pre-Sabra would be nullified, the slate wiped clean. But it hadn’t been like that. University lectures had started on time, without me.
Najwa was carrying on because she believed that you should redouble your efforts every time you have a setback. Even the survivors in the camp carried on, those that had seen it happen, watched their relatives and neighbours being slaughtered. They were rebuilding their homes, clearing the streets and opening their little shops.
I was glad to be getting out. It did feel like an escape, but I also felt like I was abandoning people. This went beyond my failed duty to the ‘cause’; it was like leaving horribly injured people at the scene of an appalling accident in the futile
hope that if you couldn’t see it then it wouldn’t bother you. The trouble was this: I would always see it; the pictures were branded onto my retinas, the smell embedded in the soft lining inside my nose.
but she planned to educate the world, as she put it, through talks and interviews, giving her account of what happened in the camp. She was also planning to write a book. Her charity had dropped her because, in their view, she had become too political for them, their status compromised by her forthright views on the massacre and who was responsible. Charity people weren’t allowed to take sides, they had to be balanced, she was told.
John said that being balanced was a sham, that if you could see both sides equally then you were missing some vital fact."
'Fair-skinned people in trouble equated to front-page news at home. I looked to Samir but he was standing back, hadn’t come up to the Israeli position. I realised that he’d never stood this close to an Israeli soldier. Perhaps he didn’t trust himself.
‘What about helping the locals?’ said Bob, in a calmer voice, but his question was lost in a barrage of questions about the foreign workers.
"Local radio said that the IDF had occupied the whole of west Beirut and spoke of heroic resistance. I found the BBC World Service. They led on Grace Kelly, saying she’d died from her injuries. Then they spoke of Beirut and an IDF spokesman said that ‘2,000 PLO terrorists’ remained in Beirut and they were determined to root them out.
On the screen Israeli tanks rumbled forward down the main Hamra Street followed by edgy-looking troops pointing their guns at the balconies above them. They were ignoring the bystanders, mainly women, standing with
crossed arms as if watching a boring military parade. One elderly woman was shouting something at the passing tanks. tanks.
‘She says they’re cowards to come in now that the fighters have left, that Beirut has had enough foreigners in it, that they should go home, that there’s nothing left to destroy but women and children, etcetera, etcetera,’
an army who couldn’t or wouldn’t enter the city when it was full of fighters but now patrolled its streets as if victorious was no army in their view. nothing. ‘They knew what was going on,’ he said, pointing to the Israeli headquarters behind him by way of clarification. It was ‘they’, not ‘we’, I noticed.
‘ Tell us, what’s the situation in the camp?’ Her face was
full of concern. I wanted to tell them what I’d seen: the bodies in the street, the ones buried under the rubble, the mutilations, the children, the rape, the eviscerations. I didn’t know how to tell it or where to begin.
Asha was wondering aloud whether the massacre would be a turning point for the Palestinians, whether the world would do something to tackle the problem. John just shrugged his shoulders, swirling whisky around in his glass. It was Samir that spoke.
‘It wasn’t just Palestinians killed in the camp, it was Lebanese too. Maybe 25 per cent of them, maybe more, but we’ll never know. They were only poor uneducated Lebanese, so no one will worry.’
‘It’s the same for the Palestinians. Do you think any educated or rich Palestinians died in the camp? Do you think any PLO cadres were there? No, only Faris and his friends were stupid enough to be there."
‘Then Faris is gone for no reason,’ she said harshly.
‘Faris is gone, probably dead, because he tried to defend the camp; he wanted to do the right thing which was the stupid thing. But he
has wasted his life for nothing, the camp could not be defended by such a small number of fighters. It was a foolish gesture.’
To me, Faris was a hero and a martyr, words that I felt had been devalued over the years by too many deaths. Faris was someone who I could only hope to look up to rather than aspire to be like.
‘Faris was a hero,’ I said, blushing. ‘Because he did the only thing he knew, which was to try and defend those people.’
‘After the massacre I thought nothing would be the same,’ I said. ‘Nothing seemed to matter any more. I didn’t think life would carry on as normal, that people would just go back to work or school. I didn’t understand how it was possible to carry on as if nothing had happened.’
‘Everything has to carry on, Ivan. You can either lie down and die or you can carry on. It’s a choice you make.’
I nodded. I’d believed that anything pre-Sabra would be nullified, the slate wiped clean. But it hadn’t been like that. University lectures had started on time, without me.
Najwa was carrying on because she believed that you should redouble your efforts every time you have a setback. Even the survivors in the camp carried on, those that had seen it happen, watched their relatives and neighbours being slaughtered. They were rebuilding their homes, clearing the streets and opening their little shops.
I was glad to be getting out. It did feel like an escape, but I also felt like I was abandoning people. This went beyond my failed duty to the ‘cause’; it was like leaving horribly injured people at the scene of an appalling accident in the futile
hope that if you couldn’t see it then it wouldn’t bother you. The trouble was this: I would always see it; the pictures were branded onto my retinas, the smell embedded in the soft lining inside my nose.
but she planned to educate the world, as she put it, through talks and interviews, giving her account of what happened in the camp. She was also planning to write a book. Her charity had dropped her because, in their view, she had become too political for them, their status compromised by her forthright views on the massacre and who was responsible. Charity people weren’t allowed to take sides, they had to be balanced, she was told.
John said that being balanced was a sham, that if you could see both sides equally then you were missing some vital fact."
January 16, 2023
A complete miss. The topic was a good one: the seige of Beirut, 1982. The storytelling was less so. The main characters were a group of 18-22 year olds (I think) with a boozy/drug culture. It felt more like university students in a dorm than some expats from overseas working in a hospital helping refugees.
A couple of hiccups: the overuse of front page newspaper headlines as a way of explaining the political situations, the repetition of lighting candles in the Chianti bottle, the amount of drugs/alcohol taken during the massacre period, and I couldn’t
get into any of the characters.
I did get a good feel for Lebanon during this period.
A couple of hiccups: the overuse of front page newspaper headlines as a way of explaining the political situations, the repetition of lighting candles in the Chianti bottle, the amount of drugs/alcohol taken during the massacre period, and I couldn’t
get into any of the characters.
I did get a good feel for Lebanon during this period.
September 8, 2012
I found Sabra Zoo a compelling and ultimately chilling read. It takes place against the historical backdrop of the 1982 massacres in the West Beirut refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. The facts of what happened are not much in dispute. After a UN peace force had engineered the removal of the great majority of Palestinian fighters from Beirut (which had been under Israeli army seige), Israel took advantage of the departure of the UN force to occupy Beirut. Israel Sharon, the Israeli Defence Minister then agreed with the leader of the Phalangist Christian militia that his men could enter the camps to mop up the suspected remaining PLO fighters. The militias then undertook a brutal massacre of mostly innocents which the Israeli army facilitated and did nothing to stop. The Israeli Kahan judicial commission later declared Israel indirectly responsible and castigated Israel Sharon for his complicity. It is to Israel's shame that he was later elected Prime Minister in 2001. The back fictional story to the historical facts is centred around Ivan an 18 year old of Danish/Palestinian extraction whose father was a member of the PLO at a political level. His parents left in the evacuation, but Ivan stayed and works as an interpreter at Sabra camp hospital, assisting the mostly international medical volunteers, but also operating as a minor cog in the remaining Palestinian resistance. It is a coming of age story as Ivan tries to come to terms with his newly found independence and the dangerous realities of West Beirut in 1982, whilst also vigorously pursuing the more typical teenage boy/man's obsession...the loss of his virginity. I thought this novel really well written with a believable and very likeable cast of characters and can highly recommend it.
July 25, 2012
Review written April, 2010:
It's 1982 and we see the Israeli siege of Beirut and the shocking events which followed through the eyes of 18-year-old Ivan, half Palestinian and half Danish, whose parents have already left. Ivan is in many ways a typical boy/man - getting drunk and stoned nightly, lusting after an older woman, desperate to lose his virginity - but in this novel, context is everything. Working as an interpreter in the Sabra camp hospital, and as a courier of fake documents for the PLO - his father a former cadre - his friends are not the usual teenager's friends, his flat is the hangout for a ragtag of international medical volunteers. I like the understated tone of the narrative, the lack of hyperbole, the small moments of humour. There is a lovely recurrent image of a candle in a Chianti bottle - so ordinary and everyday. As the camp massacre unfolds - as we know it must - and the horrors pile up sentence after sentence, you want to look away - like Ivan, uncomprehending and stunned - but you can't, you keep reading. A novel like Sabra Zoo is important, educating through fiction, fleshing out events which we as readers may not usually wish to 'revisit', but through Ivan we must. This is the power of fiction. And there is hope at the end. I was left with a lump in my throat, and wanting to know how the characters were doing, long after the last page.
It's 1982 and we see the Israeli siege of Beirut and the shocking events which followed through the eyes of 18-year-old Ivan, half Palestinian and half Danish, whose parents have already left. Ivan is in many ways a typical boy/man - getting drunk and stoned nightly, lusting after an older woman, desperate to lose his virginity - but in this novel, context is everything. Working as an interpreter in the Sabra camp hospital, and as a courier of fake documents for the PLO - his father a former cadre - his friends are not the usual teenager's friends, his flat is the hangout for a ragtag of international medical volunteers. I like the understated tone of the narrative, the lack of hyperbole, the small moments of humour. There is a lovely recurrent image of a candle in a Chianti bottle - so ordinary and everyday. As the camp massacre unfolds - as we know it must - and the horrors pile up sentence after sentence, you want to look away - like Ivan, uncomprehending and stunned - but you can't, you keep reading. A novel like Sabra Zoo is important, educating through fiction, fleshing out events which we as readers may not usually wish to 'revisit', but through Ivan we must. This is the power of fiction. And there is hope at the end. I was left with a lump in my throat, and wanting to know how the characters were doing, long after the last page.
July 31, 2021
"Join said that being balanced was a shame, that if you could see both sides equally then you were missing some vital fact."
January 15, 2014
The last book I read in 2013 was another by this author, [Shake Off]. I enjoyed it so much I decided to read all of Hiller's books. They are both thriller type of books, although [Shake Off] more so. In Sabra Zoo the main character is Ivan, the son of Palestinians who have escaped from the camps in Beirut. Ivan has chosen to stay behind and take over some of his parents' work as activists. The story has been described as a rite of passage novel as Ivan experiences this life and the consequences, evaluates the consequences, and determines if he wants to continue his parents' work or not. This is a GREAT book and has been recognized with awards for best first novel, etc. Highly recommended - couldn't put it down - I appreciate the combination of action and complicated characters. I enjoy the interaction between Palestinians, Israelis, Christians, Muslims and those who simply aren't interested.
January 8, 2013
Was tipped off to a new political thriller by this writer from the NY Times, so picked up his first one since it was available at the library. This is a historical fiction, of sorts, about the 1982 Sabra massacre in Beirut. I say "of sorts" because the story felt flat and I wondered if the author was literally re-creating an autobiographical experience through a fiction construct instead of memoir. Overall, appreciated the surprise journey into Middle East politics and I look forward to picking up his latest.
April 26, 2016
Couldn't put this book down till the (bitter) end.
June 28, 2021
Why I'm interested in this book at the first place
One of the recommend literature about Palestine by Saqi Books , via their Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO0Y8u_rJ...
This is the fourth book I picked from the list. Also critically acclaimed - Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in the Europe and South Asia category (2011), and European Independent Film Festival (2009).
What do I think of this book... now that I've done reading it
It's a 3.5 ⭐ for me.
This is a historical fiction-meets-coming of age, with the settings based on The Sabra and Shatila massacre in 1982.
Centered around the protagonist, Ivan - an 18 year old; blue eyes and dark hair, with Semitic nose (of Danish mom and Palestinian dad).
We follow from his point of view, navigating his day (job) as an interpreter for international medical volunteers in Sabra refugee camp; and (at) night as Palestine Liberation Organisation messenger.
(Up to this part, Ivan reminds me of a Jason Bourne-esque origin story)
Other than that, there's encounter with many of Ivan's aquaintances, with plenty of cigarette breaks, alcohol and chill(ing) time; taking most of the first halves of this book.
And there's a prominent sexual tension-turned-escapade story with a fellow lady named Eli. Their whole everything was quite cringey, but then again, she is the plot device for Ivan's journey as a young man in war-torn Beirut in the 80's.
(Right of the bat, if Sabra Zoo is to be made into a movie, I foresee the cinematography and color grading will be in the same realm of Argo (2012), yeah, that Ben Affleck movie)
+
Sorta a quick read, although it took me 2 days plus.
-
I don't mean it in a negative way, this is just a TW PSA in case you're interested in this book.
Quite graphic, somewhat moderate.
1.Sex scenes, and
2. The aftermath of the massacre (the camp).
Get this
1. If you're a history buff.
2. If you've seen Argo (2012).
3. Recommend further reading:
https://www.arabnews.jp/en/45thannive...
One of the recommend literature about Palestine by Saqi Books , via their Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO0Y8u_rJ...
This is the fourth book I picked from the list. Also critically acclaimed - Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in the Europe and South Asia category (2011), and European Independent Film Festival (2009).
What do I think of this book... now that I've done reading it
It's a 3.5 ⭐ for me.
This is a historical fiction-meets-coming of age, with the settings based on The Sabra and Shatila massacre in 1982.
Centered around the protagonist, Ivan - an 18 year old; blue eyes and dark hair, with Semitic nose (of Danish mom and Palestinian dad).
We follow from his point of view, navigating his day (job) as an interpreter for international medical volunteers in Sabra refugee camp; and (at) night as Palestine Liberation Organisation messenger.
(Up to this part, Ivan reminds me of a Jason Bourne-esque origin story)
Other than that, there's encounter with many of Ivan's aquaintances, with plenty of cigarette breaks, alcohol and chill(ing) time; taking most of the first halves of this book.
And there's a prominent sexual tension-turned-escapade story with a fellow lady named Eli. Their whole everything was quite cringey, but then again, she is the plot device for Ivan's journey as a young man in war-torn Beirut in the 80's.
(Right of the bat, if Sabra Zoo is to be made into a movie, I foresee the cinematography and color grading will be in the same realm of Argo (2012), yeah, that Ben Affleck movie)
+
Sorta a quick read, although it took me 2 days plus.
-
I don't mean it in a negative way, this is just a TW PSA in case you're interested in this book.
Quite graphic, somewhat moderate.
1.Sex scenes, and
2. The aftermath of the massacre (the camp).
Get this
1. If you're a history buff.
2. If you've seen Argo (2012).
3. Recommend further reading:
https://www.arabnews.jp/en/45thannive...
April 25, 2019
A very interesting, in some parts humorous and most definitely thought provoking novel set in 1982 Beirut seen through the eyes of an 18 year young man. The novel is set during a very torrid time in Lebanese history and in the build up to a horrendous massacre in a local Beirut refugee camp.
This was a very enjoyable novel and was surprised to see it was the authors debut novel, so I look forward to reading more of this authors work. Recommended.
This was a very enjoyable novel and was surprised to see it was the authors debut novel, so I look forward to reading more of this authors work. Recommended.
July 15, 2019
A relatively straightforward novel about the civil war in Lebanon. The main character is a Dutch Palestinian guy and the story is told from his perspective mainly focusing on his work as an interpreter for international aid workers and journalists. The premise of the story is thus promising but the writing itself quite flat and the characters not well-developed. A quick read.
May 25, 2011
Originally published in Blood and Barricades
It is not often a debut novelist is able to take on weighty events such as wars and massacres. There are exceptions, of course.
Mischa Hiller’s debut novel, Sabra Zoo is one of those exceptions based on the events in 1982 inside the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut where millions of Palestinians lived after they were expelled from their homeland during the formation of the Israeli state. Following the siege of Lebanon where Israeli forces bombed Beirut and forced the evacuation of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (the PLO), Hiller provides a deep and real description of the daily lives of Palestinians inside the camps but more importantly, the events at the end of the novel, where right-wing Lebanese forces backed by the Israeli state, committed the horrendous massacre inside the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Ivan, a half-Danish, half-Palestinian son of PLO cadre stays behind in Lebanon after the PLO evacuates the country to live in exile in Tunisia. With most of the city recovering from the devastating siege, he spends his time moving secret messages for a PLO faction and translating for the doctors volunteering at the refugee camp’s hospital. It’s in the hospital that readers see the damage done by Israeli bombs, including to a cheeky teenage boy, Youssef, who Ivan befriends and helps to rehabilitate after his leg was blown apart from a cluster bomb.
Ivan spends a lot of time with a group of volunteers at the hospital as well as one of his father’s associates, Samir. We get a cursory glimpse of a bit of the context in which the events happen such as through Liv, a Norwegian Trotskyist who surprises Faris, a Palestinian friend of Samir’s with her knowledge of Lebanese politics when she explains who the new President, Bachir Gemayel is: “He’s a Phalange, a right-wing Christian. He hates the Palestinians, wants to expel them from Lebanon. He cooperated with the Israelis during the invasion of his own country.”
But it is only through the events at the end that you really see the true extent of what happened in 1982. After Gemayel is assassinated and the Israelis invade, Samir and Ivan with Bob, a Western cameraman, are denied access to the Sabra refugee camp by the Israelis who surround the camp. The next day, walking around with Bob, Ivan and Samir witness the after effects of the massacre in the Sabra refugee camp whilst looking for Faris, who’s disappeared.
The result of the massacre is described graphically through the eyes of Ivan, describing bodies piled in the street, beside mass graves and in one instance, an unborn child torn from the womb lying dead on a table still connected to its mother lying dead underneath.
Whilst some details of the context of the novel are explained, the novel is mostly a description of the graphic events and doesn’t go into a lot of the political issues between the different forces.
Sabra Zoo is a very different kind of ‘coming-of-age’ tale describing how a teenage boy grows up in a very different place to us living in Australia. It is worth reading to get a sense of the sheer brutality that is often described by Palestinians as ‘everyday’ life.
It is not often a debut novelist is able to take on weighty events such as wars and massacres. There are exceptions, of course.
Mischa Hiller’s debut novel, Sabra Zoo is one of those exceptions based on the events in 1982 inside the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut where millions of Palestinians lived after they were expelled from their homeland during the formation of the Israeli state. Following the siege of Lebanon where Israeli forces bombed Beirut and forced the evacuation of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (the PLO), Hiller provides a deep and real description of the daily lives of Palestinians inside the camps but more importantly, the events at the end of the novel, where right-wing Lebanese forces backed by the Israeli state, committed the horrendous massacre inside the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Ivan, a half-Danish, half-Palestinian son of PLO cadre stays behind in Lebanon after the PLO evacuates the country to live in exile in Tunisia. With most of the city recovering from the devastating siege, he spends his time moving secret messages for a PLO faction and translating for the doctors volunteering at the refugee camp’s hospital. It’s in the hospital that readers see the damage done by Israeli bombs, including to a cheeky teenage boy, Youssef, who Ivan befriends and helps to rehabilitate after his leg was blown apart from a cluster bomb.
Ivan spends a lot of time with a group of volunteers at the hospital as well as one of his father’s associates, Samir. We get a cursory glimpse of a bit of the context in which the events happen such as through Liv, a Norwegian Trotskyist who surprises Faris, a Palestinian friend of Samir’s with her knowledge of Lebanese politics when she explains who the new President, Bachir Gemayel is: “He’s a Phalange, a right-wing Christian. He hates the Palestinians, wants to expel them from Lebanon. He cooperated with the Israelis during the invasion of his own country.”
But it is only through the events at the end that you really see the true extent of what happened in 1982. After Gemayel is assassinated and the Israelis invade, Samir and Ivan with Bob, a Western cameraman, are denied access to the Sabra refugee camp by the Israelis who surround the camp. The next day, walking around with Bob, Ivan and Samir witness the after effects of the massacre in the Sabra refugee camp whilst looking for Faris, who’s disappeared.
The result of the massacre is described graphically through the eyes of Ivan, describing bodies piled in the street, beside mass graves and in one instance, an unborn child torn from the womb lying dead on a table still connected to its mother lying dead underneath.
Whilst some details of the context of the novel are explained, the novel is mostly a description of the graphic events and doesn’t go into a lot of the political issues between the different forces.
Sabra Zoo is a very different kind of ‘coming-of-age’ tale describing how a teenage boy grows up in a very different place to us living in Australia. It is worth reading to get a sense of the sheer brutality that is often described by Palestinians as ‘everyday’ life.
November 14, 2011
Sabra Zoo was one of the best books that I have read in a very long time. It is the story of the Sabra massacre in Beirut, as told through the eyes of Ivan, an 18 year old with a Danish mother and Palestinian father. His parents were involved in an underground organisation before fleeing Lebanon, but Ivan has stayed on and tentatively follows in their footsteps. His real vocation though is as an interpreter at a hospital in the Sabra camp run by foreign medical volunteers - this is where the bulk of the story lies, and also most of its heart.
The strength of this novel is its characters, starting with Ivan himself. He's extremely popular with the ladies, and not just for his looks. He's sensitive and considerate and decent, but not cloyingly so. And all these traits that make him popular with the ladies also endear him to the reader. I liked Ivan, and enjoyed seeing the world (even THAT world) through his eyes.
But it's not just Ivan that is likeable. Every character feels real, and every character is sympathetic - I suppose this is possible when the 'villains' of the story are the faceless and unseen forces behind the butchery described. From European doctors and nurses who have left behind comfortable lives to try to make a difference in such an environment, to American journalists who take footage that they know can't be seen on mealtime news broadcasts, to locals who risk everything for the honorable causes they believe in: they are all well-drawn characters, and Hiller could have chosen any one of them as the focal point of his story. I kept thinking about the support cast, imagining the world from their eyes too. That's surely a sign of a great novel.
I'll finish with a short passage that I feel demonstrates both the horror and the heart of Sabra Zoo. Ivan is relaying the conversation at a gathering of the hospital volunteers, including this passage from the small Indian doctor with beautiful white teeth...
Asha's voice was measured and calm compared to Liv's. 'Do you remember that man in the field hospital who lost fourteen members of his family all at once?' There were nods around the table. He was a big man whose apartment took a direct hit from a rocket that killed everyone in it apart from him. He'd been impaled on the railing three floors down after being blown from his house.
'Every day', she continued, 'he would sit with anyone who had no visitors or was feeling depressed or just come out of surgery. He would talk to them, play cards with them, fetch them water or food.' She hesitated and refilled her glass with water. 'He would hold their hands.' She looked at us and smiled. 'That's love,' she said, 'the rest of it is just...' She waved her hands dismissively.
The strength of this novel is its characters, starting with Ivan himself. He's extremely popular with the ladies, and not just for his looks. He's sensitive and considerate and decent, but not cloyingly so. And all these traits that make him popular with the ladies also endear him to the reader. I liked Ivan, and enjoyed seeing the world (even THAT world) through his eyes.
But it's not just Ivan that is likeable. Every character feels real, and every character is sympathetic - I suppose this is possible when the 'villains' of the story are the faceless and unseen forces behind the butchery described. From European doctors and nurses who have left behind comfortable lives to try to make a difference in such an environment, to American journalists who take footage that they know can't be seen on mealtime news broadcasts, to locals who risk everything for the honorable causes they believe in: they are all well-drawn characters, and Hiller could have chosen any one of them as the focal point of his story. I kept thinking about the support cast, imagining the world from their eyes too. That's surely a sign of a great novel.
I'll finish with a short passage that I feel demonstrates both the horror and the heart of Sabra Zoo. Ivan is relaying the conversation at a gathering of the hospital volunteers, including this passage from the small Indian doctor with beautiful white teeth...
Asha's voice was measured and calm compared to Liv's. 'Do you remember that man in the field hospital who lost fourteen members of his family all at once?' There were nods around the table. He was a big man whose apartment took a direct hit from a rocket that killed everyone in it apart from him. He'd been impaled on the railing three floors down after being blown from his house.
'Every day', she continued, 'he would sit with anyone who had no visitors or was feeling depressed or just come out of surgery. He would talk to them, play cards with them, fetch them water or food.' She hesitated and refilled her glass with water. 'He would hold their hands.' She looked at us and smiled. 'That's love,' she said, 'the rest of it is just...' She waved her hands dismissively.
November 29, 2010
This book has had me gripped from start to finish. It's not a thriller or suspense, just a well written book about life in Lebanon before, during and after the Sabra massacre. Written as a novel, it makes what happened more palatable for those who only like to think of these things happening in some distant land of make believe. For those that are prepared to acknowledge that these things do happen in the real world, you will not be disappointed. Dispelling many myths about the people of Lebanon, as well as painting a picture of Lebanon, it had me chuckling and feeling deep empathy.
I know Lebanon, and I love it as a country. I love the people and their resilience. I understand the politics to the degree that those of us outside the political arena can do; and yet picturing the streets, the beaches and the sunsets mentioned in this book, had me back there in Lebanon with family in the various locations dotted across the country, seeing the bullet holes in the buildings - some patched up, others not; feeling that nervous feeling at the checkpoints simple because it was a checkpoint with soldiers and guns - big guns; seeing brand new roads and bridges which had only just been completed after the latest round of bombing, seeing the rubble of the bombings being used to make sea defences, and new hillsides to add to the varied landscape. The ability to paint a picture that Mishca has was intensified for me because of my knowledge of Lebanon, but don't think for a moment that my knowledge takes away from Mishca's ability. A very talented author, and a great first novel!
This book is well written and will have all audiences hooked. If it doesn't hook you, then I don't know what will.... Mills and Boon maybe? Enjoy it folks, I did.
I know Lebanon, and I love it as a country. I love the people and their resilience. I understand the politics to the degree that those of us outside the political arena can do; and yet picturing the streets, the beaches and the sunsets mentioned in this book, had me back there in Lebanon with family in the various locations dotted across the country, seeing the bullet holes in the buildings - some patched up, others not; feeling that nervous feeling at the checkpoints simple because it was a checkpoint with soldiers and guns - big guns; seeing brand new roads and bridges which had only just been completed after the latest round of bombing, seeing the rubble of the bombings being used to make sea defences, and new hillsides to add to the varied landscape. The ability to paint a picture that Mishca has was intensified for me because of my knowledge of Lebanon, but don't think for a moment that my knowledge takes away from Mishca's ability. A very talented author, and a great first novel!
This book is well written and will have all audiences hooked. If it doesn't hook you, then I don't know what will.... Mills and Boon maybe? Enjoy it folks, I did.
February 9, 2014
So much of the book hit close to home. It takes place thirty years ago, but in a world that was very familiar to me - the anything-goes world of youth who don't fit the conservative stereotype of the Middle East. The main character nurtures the wax formations on a wine bottle that has been converted into a candle-holder. Somehow this image captured the feel of the book. A feel where life is felt acutely, numbed by earthly pleasures because no one can live at such a level of intensity for long.
But history repeats itself, and that realisation is what made this book hard to read. The Middle East I know is of the past decade. The wars I've seen are being fought in Syria and Iraq. Sabra Zoo takes place at one of the most difficult moments in the history of Lebanon-Palestine-Israel. It explores an important, but beyond-tragic, historical event from a unique point of view. It documents an awfulness that shouldn't be repeated. But it is being repeated now. A contemporary book, told through a much-needed drunken haze, about living life when it's hard to figure out why.
But history repeats itself, and that realisation is what made this book hard to read. The Middle East I know is of the past decade. The wars I've seen are being fought in Syria and Iraq. Sabra Zoo takes place at one of the most difficult moments in the history of Lebanon-Palestine-Israel. It explores an important, but beyond-tragic, historical event from a unique point of view. It documents an awfulness that shouldn't be repeated. But it is being repeated now. A contemporary book, told through a much-needed drunken haze, about living life when it's hard to figure out why.
August 1, 2014
Damn. A sad book on several levels, but a fast read. The work focuses on a normal "coming of age" as Ivan becomes an adult just as the Israelis invade Lebanon and make way for the massacres at Sabra and Shatila. I'm usually really annoyed at the "western aid workers humping as plot point using tragedy as backdrop" and was happy to see that was not the case in this book. The international/intercultural interactions here seemed believable and I believed the characters as they tried to navigate this deeply effed up world.
Lebanon has always intrigued me and I felt like someone with no background on the Lebanese civil war would have really been adrift; on the one hand I appreciate an author who assumes I'm informed and have a brain but on the other I felt that the author missed a chance to convey how this particular civil war was more messed up than most. All in all, a good example of the "aloneness" of a third-culture kid contrasting with the in-demand skillset as a cultural broker that such a person possesses.
Lebanon has always intrigued me and I felt like someone with no background on the Lebanese civil war would have really been adrift; on the one hand I appreciate an author who assumes I'm informed and have a brain but on the other I felt that the author missed a chance to convey how this particular civil war was more messed up than most. All in all, a good example of the "aloneness" of a third-culture kid contrasting with the in-demand skillset as a cultural broker that such a person possesses.
September 26, 2017
Buon libro, non eccellente, ma racconta come spesso succede, attraverso gli occhi di un libanese (anche se per metà danese) il massacro dei campi profughi negli anni ottanta, perpetrato da falangisti e israeliani. Lo sfondo della vicenda è un ospedale e i protagonisti sono medici e interpreti, con l'aggiunta di giornalisti e ragazzi ribelli. Devo dire che però non traspare quasi mai il dramma di ciò che accadde, manca del tutto a mio avviso una risposta (fatta attraverso la scrittura) all'eccidio, alle colpe e ai colpevoli; sembra più una storia d'amore che vuole nascere e vivere per colpa (o "grazie" a) il conflitto a Beirut. Peccato, perché il protagonista ti coinvolge fin da subito, ma manca forse quel pizzico di coraggio in più da parte dell'autore di farci comprendere maggiormente la situazione.
May 1, 2012
I read this having enjoyed his more recent novel 'Shake Off' very much indeed. I enjoyed this one too, reading the whole book on one long plane journey. Apart from being a reminder of the mini-holocaust that occured in the Sabra camp, it convincingly captures the curious relationships that emerge in such situations between polically active locals and sympathetic foreigners. The latter can, of course, always leave, as they do here. The protagonist straddles both camps, but eventually he leaves too. Nothing is straightforward in Hiller's writing, but then it isn't in life, is it?
April 15, 2016
A painfully beautiful novel about a boy who will get under your skin. Ivan, half Danish half Palestinian 18 year-old boy, is caught growing up in a war-torn country, witnessing one of the most horrific massacres of the 20th century; a massacre that was well-orchestrated while the world remained silent. Mischa's style is brilliant in its simplicity, painful honesty, and clarity of language. Ivan is definitely one of my most favorite fictional characters ever. The book filled me up as only a masterpiece can. Looking forward to reading his "Shake Off" next.
April 22, 2010
a novel about a war-striken city with a teenager left to fend for himself in a situation of "amonie", to face a masscare nof a camp where he was translating to volunteer doctors. He wakes up to the reality that living means taking a minute by minute decisions.... which is what growing up (and disappointment) is about. Worth reading
March 1, 2011
Simply, wow. Hiller is such a talented author (am currently reading his new thriller, SHAKE OFF, and it is also stunning). This book is gut-wrenching, especially for the last 80 or so pages. I cannot wait to read more from this writer!!
December 29, 2011
Great novel about the horrific Sabra massacre. The characters are captivating, as is the language. The reader feels
Iike he is in Beirut in September 1982.
The editing could have been a little better. A city map of Beirut at that time would have helped.
Iike he is in Beirut in September 1982.
The editing could have been a little better. A city map of Beirut at that time would have helped.
May 12, 2011
Touching debut from this talented writer. I look forward to reading more from him.
July 7, 2012
Very good novel about Lebanon and the Sabra massacre.
February 24, 2013
definitely one of my favorite new authors
Want to read
January 27, 2015I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13147925
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13147925
March 13, 2016
A good book that could have been excellent.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews