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The Bitterness of Olives
‘Why can you not be friends anymore?’
It was the story of his country, he supposed. Perhaps they could have been friends. Perhaps they were once. The reasons were complex, full of feeling, disappointment, resentment. And, of course, betrayal. This was the Middle East after all.
Avi Dahan, a retired detective mourning his beloved wife in Tel Aviv, and Khalid Mansour, a Palestinian doctor confronting the precarious reality of living in Gaza City, are still reeling from the political fallout that jeopardised their delicate friendship. When a mysterious corpse scarred by history and forbidden love shows up in Khalid’s emergency room, he reaches out to Avi for help. Though the detective is the only one who might be able to assist, he is the last person on earth to agree …
The stage is set for Andrew Brown’s unforgettable new novel, The Bitterness of Olives.
Did it really matter? In the face of chaos, was it important how she had died? That was the guidance he needed from Avi now. He needed to understand that question: did it matter anymore? Was it of any significance, how you died in a war?
It was the story of his country, he supposed. Perhaps they could have been friends. Perhaps they were once. The reasons were complex, full of feeling, disappointment, resentment. And, of course, betrayal. This was the Middle East after all.
Avi Dahan, a retired detective mourning his beloved wife in Tel Aviv, and Khalid Mansour, a Palestinian doctor confronting the precarious reality of living in Gaza City, are still reeling from the political fallout that jeopardised their delicate friendship. When a mysterious corpse scarred by history and forbidden love shows up in Khalid’s emergency room, he reaches out to Avi for help. Though the detective is the only one who might be able to assist, he is the last person on earth to agree …
The stage is set for Andrew Brown’s unforgettable new novel, The Bitterness of Olives.
Did it really matter? In the face of chaos, was it important how she had died? That was the guidance he needed from Avi now. He needed to understand that question: did it matter anymore? Was it of any significance, how you died in a war?
- GenresFictionLiterary Fiction
Paperback
Published September 1, 2023
60 people are currently reading
314 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Brown
1 book3 followersANDREW BROWN is an advocate and a sergeant in the saps reserves and police liaison officer for the Child Protection Unit at Red Cross Children’s Hospital. He is the author of two non-fiction books and five novels, including Coldsleep Lullaby, winner of the Sunday Times Prize for Fiction in 2006, and Refuge, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Literature (Africa Region) in 2009. Street Blues: The Experiences of a Reluctant Policeman was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award the same year. Andrew’s books are published in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. He has three children and lives in Cape Town.
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November 28, 2023
‘The Bitterness of Olives’, by Andrew Brown is a haunting book – shockingly real in bringing the perspective of people living in a country split through its very foundations, when strikes are a daily occurrence and when the worst kind of inhumanity can happen through a mere word. When righteous belief transcends logic – we are seeing it now as the situation in Israel and Palestine escalates. The cover of the book was almost prophetic, as Brown himself says – ‘it is surreal’- as the tragedy of a terrorist onslaught on Israel unfolded some few weeks after the book was published.
Brown’s experience as an anti- apartheid activist, advocate, police reservist and successful author has provided an experienced but objective eye. He writes astutely, observing closely and with this, his fifth novel, his unflinching pen takes you under the surface of this bubbling cauldron.
Strikes and unfurling mushroom clouds in the troubled area are certainly not unusual and the story that Brown has crafted is not an easy read. This is an intimate picture seen through the eyes of two men, an Israeli detective and Palestinian doctor, whose pursuit of truth and healing through their chosen careers, are their only goals. Who are not politicians but whose relationship was shattered through interference, corruption and collaboration. We are privy to their constant fear, of the uneasy and tentative friendships that can develop, the conditioned distrust, and the simmering forces that disallow this in a country where there seems to be no solution. Even when working as a team, that underlying expectation of betrayal permeates a well-oiled and successful relationship. A death knell to any possibility of understanding, to harmony.
And yet…Two good men, on opposite sides of the barrier: Retired and recently widowed detective Avi Dahan cannot let go of the truth. His life is empty without his wife, he is the stubborn, lonely old man in Tel Aviv, whose only son has long left Israel, whose usefulness has been discarded. When former colleague Dr Khalid Mansour contacts him, even his stubbornness cannot prevent a spark of interest. Their working relationship had shattered some years before, destroying what had been an uneasy but respectful friendship. Khalid had moved to Gaza City with his family; Avi had allowed his anger to simmer. But when a body turns up in Khalid’s emergency room in Gaza the story it tells compels him to reach out to Avi – only he can help – but will he?
This emotive story will reach into the depths of your heart. The friendship that had existed between Avi and Khalid seems to be an analogy of all that is happening in the Middle East. We are taken back in time, to the founding state of Israel, the displacement of the Palestinians and the Iraqi Jews, the wars, the separations and the horrors of Gaza City – the largest open-air prison in the world.
‘There was no respite here. And now there was no way back. This is where hope came to die. The Strip – where angels came to be buried, they said’.
You will smell the dust, feel the constant fear, the trepidation of crossing borders, of trying to pursue a normal life. Nothing is normal here. It explores the nature of friendships, families, forbidden love, strongly held beliefs, conflict, fanaticism and how a simple life is something that has been denied in the turmoil of the Middle East.
’The moral right of a belief that provided a freedom without responsibility. That was what Khalid feared more than anything else – the absence of accountability married to righteous certainty. It didn’t matter what the cause was – good or bad – because absolute belief invariably led to a lack of introspective thought, the hesitancy that allowed one to reconsider.’
Brown’s bitingly honest but objective narrative brings home to us that the victims of war are not always obvious, that the injustices and the encouragement of hatred and resentment hurts the innocent, questions identity and humanity. That our lives are stitched together in a patchwork of small pieces, experiences that shape us, change us, inform us.
It is an evocative chronicle that has its place among those novels that expose injustice; questioning and yet allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. I was moved to tears in the reading. I had to put it aside and digest what I had experienced, because that’s what Brown does – he gives you an experience as you walk the streets with his characters – one that will force you to ask - what is humanity?
Brown’s experience as an anti- apartheid activist, advocate, police reservist and successful author has provided an experienced but objective eye. He writes astutely, observing closely and with this, his fifth novel, his unflinching pen takes you under the surface of this bubbling cauldron.
Strikes and unfurling mushroom clouds in the troubled area are certainly not unusual and the story that Brown has crafted is not an easy read. This is an intimate picture seen through the eyes of two men, an Israeli detective and Palestinian doctor, whose pursuit of truth and healing through their chosen careers, are their only goals. Who are not politicians but whose relationship was shattered through interference, corruption and collaboration. We are privy to their constant fear, of the uneasy and tentative friendships that can develop, the conditioned distrust, and the simmering forces that disallow this in a country where there seems to be no solution. Even when working as a team, that underlying expectation of betrayal permeates a well-oiled and successful relationship. A death knell to any possibility of understanding, to harmony.
And yet…Two good men, on opposite sides of the barrier: Retired and recently widowed detective Avi Dahan cannot let go of the truth. His life is empty without his wife, he is the stubborn, lonely old man in Tel Aviv, whose only son has long left Israel, whose usefulness has been discarded. When former colleague Dr Khalid Mansour contacts him, even his stubbornness cannot prevent a spark of interest. Their working relationship had shattered some years before, destroying what had been an uneasy but respectful friendship. Khalid had moved to Gaza City with his family; Avi had allowed his anger to simmer. But when a body turns up in Khalid’s emergency room in Gaza the story it tells compels him to reach out to Avi – only he can help – but will he?
This emotive story will reach into the depths of your heart. The friendship that had existed between Avi and Khalid seems to be an analogy of all that is happening in the Middle East. We are taken back in time, to the founding state of Israel, the displacement of the Palestinians and the Iraqi Jews, the wars, the separations and the horrors of Gaza City – the largest open-air prison in the world.
‘There was no respite here. And now there was no way back. This is where hope came to die. The Strip – where angels came to be buried, they said’.
You will smell the dust, feel the constant fear, the trepidation of crossing borders, of trying to pursue a normal life. Nothing is normal here. It explores the nature of friendships, families, forbidden love, strongly held beliefs, conflict, fanaticism and how a simple life is something that has been denied in the turmoil of the Middle East.
’The moral right of a belief that provided a freedom without responsibility. That was what Khalid feared more than anything else – the absence of accountability married to righteous certainty. It didn’t matter what the cause was – good or bad – because absolute belief invariably led to a lack of introspective thought, the hesitancy that allowed one to reconsider.’
Brown’s bitingly honest but objective narrative brings home to us that the victims of war are not always obvious, that the injustices and the encouragement of hatred and resentment hurts the innocent, questions identity and humanity. That our lives are stitched together in a patchwork of small pieces, experiences that shape us, change us, inform us.
It is an evocative chronicle that has its place among those novels that expose injustice; questioning and yet allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. I was moved to tears in the reading. I had to put it aside and digest what I had experienced, because that’s what Brown does – he gives you an experience as you walk the streets with his characters – one that will force you to ask - what is humanity?
August 20, 2024
#TheBitternessOfOlives – Andrew Brown
#KaravanPress (2023)
Pickling olives is a task requiring patience. The olive does not allow itself to be rushed. “Bitterness takes time to fade.” (38)
Avi Dahan is a retired detective mourning the loss of his deceased wife, his emigrant son, and his career in modern day Tel Aviv: “It had taken him by surprise… the lack of respect for someone retired… once the mantle of employment and authority had been lifted, the person beneath became all but invisible to a self-important bustling world.” (136) In addition, thereto, although in denial thereof, he is also mourning the loss of the fragile friendship he had once enjoyed with a Palestinian doctor, Khalid Mansour, now residing in Gaza City and whom he had last spoken to more than seven years prior. The discovery of the body of an elderly lady triggers the revisitation of everything they had always regarded as truth.
The elected narrative provides an objective bird’s eye view: Both Avi and Khalid focalise in the alternative, but their perspectives are challenged by a first-person voice from the past, that of the elderly lady who, even after her death, acts as a bridge between two colliding worlds. Various themes are investigated. The nature of truth is dissected by both main characters, the one musing that “Viewpoints are not shared or debated, but rather foisted by one upon the other. Conversing has become a unilateral act.” (2) whilst the other realized “…. absolute truth invariably led to a lack of introspective thought, the hesitancy that allowed one to reconsider.” (109)
The examination of identity, and the value attached to the associations therewith, results in the painful conclusion: “Was I still Jewish? My answer is simply this: does it matter? Or rather: why does it matter to you so? The need to make me one thing, to define me by sets of rules that shackle me, it is what I had to fight against my whole life. Those rules brough me nothing but pain. So ask not what I am.” (225)
The author is perhaps best known for his procedural novels and non-fiction, but this novel breaks the pattern by exchanging South Africa for the Middle East, cautiously avoiding the choosing of sides between the grey area of right and wrong, and by revealing the elephant in the room, that in some areas, hostility has become normalcy, so-called ceasefires nothing but its “temporary and artificial absence.” (5)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Uitdieperdsebek
#KaravanPress (2023)
Pickling olives is a task requiring patience. The olive does not allow itself to be rushed. “Bitterness takes time to fade.” (38)
Avi Dahan is a retired detective mourning the loss of his deceased wife, his emigrant son, and his career in modern day Tel Aviv: “It had taken him by surprise… the lack of respect for someone retired… once the mantle of employment and authority had been lifted, the person beneath became all but invisible to a self-important bustling world.” (136) In addition, thereto, although in denial thereof, he is also mourning the loss of the fragile friendship he had once enjoyed with a Palestinian doctor, Khalid Mansour, now residing in Gaza City and whom he had last spoken to more than seven years prior. The discovery of the body of an elderly lady triggers the revisitation of everything they had always regarded as truth.
The elected narrative provides an objective bird’s eye view: Both Avi and Khalid focalise in the alternative, but their perspectives are challenged by a first-person voice from the past, that of the elderly lady who, even after her death, acts as a bridge between two colliding worlds. Various themes are investigated. The nature of truth is dissected by both main characters, the one musing that “Viewpoints are not shared or debated, but rather foisted by one upon the other. Conversing has become a unilateral act.” (2) whilst the other realized “…. absolute truth invariably led to a lack of introspective thought, the hesitancy that allowed one to reconsider.” (109)
The examination of identity, and the value attached to the associations therewith, results in the painful conclusion: “Was I still Jewish? My answer is simply this: does it matter? Or rather: why does it matter to you so? The need to make me one thing, to define me by sets of rules that shackle me, it is what I had to fight against my whole life. Those rules brough me nothing but pain. So ask not what I am.” (225)
The author is perhaps best known for his procedural novels and non-fiction, but this novel breaks the pattern by exchanging South Africa for the Middle East, cautiously avoiding the choosing of sides between the grey area of right and wrong, and by revealing the elephant in the room, that in some areas, hostility has become normalcy, so-called ceasefires nothing but its “temporary and artificial absence.” (5)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Uitdieperdsebek
December 31, 2024
I shed a tear about the story of this book before I had even read it. I was lucky enough to attend the author's Sunday Times award celebration at The Book Lounge in Cape Town, which was when I first picked up the book. Andrew Brown has a beautiful way about him, and what moved me was how deeply he seemed to care to tell an authentic story with care and humanity. Seeing him get emotional about the success of his novel with the people who motivated and supported him was moving.
This South African novel was my first formal, fictional introduction to the war in Gaza. It was surreal and haunting to read a work of fiction set in places that have been plastered across news headlines after fatal, destructive bombings. The existence of this story, like the story the novel is about, is a testament to all the forgotten names that get lost in a senseless war. Andrew Brown does such a great job in telling the tale of two friends on opposite ends of the conflict and can say a lot without it sounding like a lecture.
It's exactly the style of writing I like: a man that loves a comma and the occasional run-on sentence. It was a book that moved me, and made me think of our fellow human beings being subjected to circumstances we find unthinkable with more compassion that any news article has done so far - exactly what Andrew Brown attempted to do with the tool of fiction.
This South African novel was my first formal, fictional introduction to the war in Gaza. It was surreal and haunting to read a work of fiction set in places that have been plastered across news headlines after fatal, destructive bombings. The existence of this story, like the story the novel is about, is a testament to all the forgotten names that get lost in a senseless war. Andrew Brown does such a great job in telling the tale of two friends on opposite ends of the conflict and can say a lot without it sounding like a lecture.
It's exactly the style of writing I like: a man that loves a comma and the occasional run-on sentence. It was a book that moved me, and made me think of our fellow human beings being subjected to circumstances we find unthinkable with more compassion that any news article has done so far - exactly what Andrew Brown attempted to do with the tool of fiction.
February 2, 2025
‘I often think about the different role players in this madness, and wonder who I would rather be. The politician who ordered the troops in, or the soldier who pulled the trigger, or the parent of the child who threw the stone and who was shot where he stood? Or the journalist who blurred the image as he took the photograph and could do nothing but watch? Or one of us, stoically saving as many lives as we can. It's all pointless in its own way, Khalid. But perhaps there is an integrity in our pointlessness. Because we don't lose our humanity in doing it.'
Read this for book club, and forever grateful it was chosen as the January read because I (like most people who exist in this current socio-political climate) am shying away from anything serious looking because life is heavy as fuck. Fiction at the moment is serving as a balm, a distraction. Reading about the Israeli Palestinian conflict in fiction would be poking an open wound caused by the news we should not and can not look away from.
However, that would’ve been a mistake. Andrew Brown has written a book that looks unflinchingly at both sides of the conflict, but that still manages to be hopeful and beautiful at the same time. It was superbly-written page-turning crime fiction, with purpose and heart and clarity.
There was some oversimplification of certain facets (necessary in fiction, yes, but also privileged) and the occasional use of women as moral narrative foil, which is my reason for 4.5 vs 5 stars.
Everyone should read this.
Read this for book club, and forever grateful it was chosen as the January read because I (like most people who exist in this current socio-political climate) am shying away from anything serious looking because life is heavy as fuck. Fiction at the moment is serving as a balm, a distraction. Reading about the Israeli Palestinian conflict in fiction would be poking an open wound caused by the news we should not and can not look away from.
However, that would’ve been a mistake. Andrew Brown has written a book that looks unflinchingly at both sides of the conflict, but that still manages to be hopeful and beautiful at the same time. It was superbly-written page-turning crime fiction, with purpose and heart and clarity.
There was some oversimplification of certain facets (necessary in fiction, yes, but also privileged) and the occasional use of women as moral narrative foil, which is my reason for 4.5 vs 5 stars.
Everyone should read this.
January 27, 2025
"Was it of any significance, how you died in a war?"
Set in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Gaza City, we are introduced to two friends from opposite sides, each with their own complicated home, loyalty, and personhood. A mysterious death causes them to reunite after years of estrangement and what ensues is a beautiful exploration of what it means to be Jewish, what it means to be Muslim and what it means to be human in a time like this and a place like that.
The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown is an incredible book. It is filled with so much and all the little. It has moved me beyond words.
Read it, please. And pass it on. A book like this is a gift, especially in times like this. I/we will never understand the war in Palestine, but this book shows a part of it and helped me digest bits. Treat it like a mystery novel and put aside the news, if that is even possible, and get swept away in what can best be described as a literary mystery novel set in a harrowing world.
After reading it, it is impossible not to agree with this book winning the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Award.
Set in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Gaza City, we are introduced to two friends from opposite sides, each with their own complicated home, loyalty, and personhood. A mysterious death causes them to reunite after years of estrangement and what ensues is a beautiful exploration of what it means to be Jewish, what it means to be Muslim and what it means to be human in a time like this and a place like that.
The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown is an incredible book. It is filled with so much and all the little. It has moved me beyond words.
Read it, please. And pass it on. A book like this is a gift, especially in times like this. I/we will never understand the war in Palestine, but this book shows a part of it and helped me digest bits. Treat it like a mystery novel and put aside the news, if that is even possible, and get swept away in what can best be described as a literary mystery novel set in a harrowing world.
After reading it, it is impossible not to agree with this book winning the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Award.
December 31, 2025
4.5*
The Bitterness of Olives is a haunting novel with a deep emotional insight on the brutality of war. It explores loss, grief, indifference to human life and the connection between people amongst chaos. An uncomfortable read that will impact any reader.
“There seemed so few choices to be made. Freedom had been squeezed into a small claustrophobic space.”
“No one ever wins, the retired policeman thought wearily. This was Palestine.”
“There was a ridiculous futility to his death. Perhaps there is to every death.”
The Bitterness of Olives is a haunting novel with a deep emotional insight on the brutality of war. It explores loss, grief, indifference to human life and the connection between people amongst chaos. An uncomfortable read that will impact any reader.
“There seemed so few choices to be made. Freedom had been squeezed into a small claustrophobic space.”
“No one ever wins, the retired policeman thought wearily. This was Palestine.”
“There was a ridiculous futility to his death. Perhaps there is to every death.”
July 3, 2024
The Bitterness of Olives
Andrew Brown
Karavan Press
This story is that of the delicate friendship between two men, one Palestinian, the other Israeli.
Embittered by a past disagreement and conditioned mistrust, they overcome their differences to investigate a murder.
Palestinian doctor Khalid Mansour is working on the frontline in Gaza City. His curiosity is sparked during a routine examination of a Muslim woman killed in a bombing in order to sign her death certificate. This is nothing unusual in a chaotic war zone and the details of death do not really matter until he finds signs on her body. He needs to know about this woman and there is someone who can help him.
Retired detective Avi Dahan is mourning the death of his beloved wife in Tel Aviv. He is also missing his son who has moved to America to live with his male partner.
The doctor and detective have not had contact with each other for some time but Mansour is determined to work with his old friend to find answers. The back stories hint at an intriguing history and a forbidden love.
Brown takes us into his characters’ hearts and skilfully weaves different strands into one another, building tension to breaking point. If you are expecting enlightenment on the complex historical tension in the Middle East, this story is not for you.
Instead it’s a deeply moving chronicle of how people are brought together in a country split through its foundations by conflict out of their control. Brown takes readers into the current time and place, one of constant anxiety, of crossing borders and trying to continue living a “normal” life.
The story is at times confusing as it appears to move from present to past and back again but Brown’s thorough research makes this a worthwhile read.
This is the Observatory author’s fifth novel and took the longest time to write. Brown converted to Judaism three decades ago and combines his experience as a police reservist in the South African Police Service and as an advocate.
Thanks to Karavan Press for the review copy.
Andrew Brown
Karavan Press
This story is that of the delicate friendship between two men, one Palestinian, the other Israeli.
Embittered by a past disagreement and conditioned mistrust, they overcome their differences to investigate a murder.
Palestinian doctor Khalid Mansour is working on the frontline in Gaza City. His curiosity is sparked during a routine examination of a Muslim woman killed in a bombing in order to sign her death certificate. This is nothing unusual in a chaotic war zone and the details of death do not really matter until he finds signs on her body. He needs to know about this woman and there is someone who can help him.
Retired detective Avi Dahan is mourning the death of his beloved wife in Tel Aviv. He is also missing his son who has moved to America to live with his male partner.
The doctor and detective have not had contact with each other for some time but Mansour is determined to work with his old friend to find answers. The back stories hint at an intriguing history and a forbidden love.
Brown takes us into his characters’ hearts and skilfully weaves different strands into one another, building tension to breaking point. If you are expecting enlightenment on the complex historical tension in the Middle East, this story is not for you.
Instead it’s a deeply moving chronicle of how people are brought together in a country split through its foundations by conflict out of their control. Brown takes readers into the current time and place, one of constant anxiety, of crossing borders and trying to continue living a “normal” life.
The story is at times confusing as it appears to move from present to past and back again but Brown’s thorough research makes this a worthwhile read.
This is the Observatory author’s fifth novel and took the longest time to write. Brown converted to Judaism three decades ago and combines his experience as a police reservist in the South African Police Service and as an advocate.
Thanks to Karavan Press for the review copy.
Read
December 31, 2025In The Bitterness of Olives, Andrew Brown explores the Israeli–Palestinian conflict not through grand political statements, but through the quiet, lived experiences of individuals shaped by it. Rather than attempting to “explain” the conflict, the novel examines how prolonged hostility becomes normalized—how fear, division, and loss gradually fade into the background of everyday life.
The narrative is structured around the mysterious death of an elderly woman, a seemingly small event that forces two estranged friends—Avi and Khalid—back into contact. This investigative framework works effectively as more than a plot device; it mirrors the process of uncovering buried histories, personal grievances, and moral compromises that both men have learned to live with.
Avi, a recently retired Israeli detective, embodies emotional stagnation. His stubbornness and sense of abandonment—stemming from his wife’s death and his child’s emigration—reflect a broader theme of displacement that exists even among those who appear to hold power. Brown presents Avi not as a symbol of authority, but as a man quietly eroded by grief and irrelevance.
In contrast, Khalid, a Palestinian doctor working in Gaza City, represents resilience under constant threat. His decision to remain with his family despite danger and hardship highlights the moral complexity of choice in an environment where no option is without cost. Khalid is portrayed as deeply human, navigating duty, fear, and hope simultaneously.
Brown’s greatest strength lies in his refusal to moralize. By granting equal emotional depth to characters on both sides of the divide, he challenges readers to confront their assumptions without prescribing conclusions. The warmth and empathy with which each perspective is rendered make the novel particularly powerful, encouraging understanding rather than judgment.
Ultimately, The Bitterness of Olives is a compelling reminder that political conflicts are sustained not only by ideology, but by ordinary people adapting to extraordinary circumstances. It is both a page-turning mystery and a thoughtful meditation on how humanity persists—even quietly—amid division.
The narrative is structured around the mysterious death of an elderly woman, a seemingly small event that forces two estranged friends—Avi and Khalid—back into contact. This investigative framework works effectively as more than a plot device; it mirrors the process of uncovering buried histories, personal grievances, and moral compromises that both men have learned to live with.
Avi, a recently retired Israeli detective, embodies emotional stagnation. His stubbornness and sense of abandonment—stemming from his wife’s death and his child’s emigration—reflect a broader theme of displacement that exists even among those who appear to hold power. Brown presents Avi not as a symbol of authority, but as a man quietly eroded by grief and irrelevance.
In contrast, Khalid, a Palestinian doctor working in Gaza City, represents resilience under constant threat. His decision to remain with his family despite danger and hardship highlights the moral complexity of choice in an environment where no option is without cost. Khalid is portrayed as deeply human, navigating duty, fear, and hope simultaneously.
Brown’s greatest strength lies in his refusal to moralize. By granting equal emotional depth to characters on both sides of the divide, he challenges readers to confront their assumptions without prescribing conclusions. The warmth and empathy with which each perspective is rendered make the novel particularly powerful, encouraging understanding rather than judgment.
Ultimately, The Bitterness of Olives is a compelling reminder that political conflicts are sustained not only by ideology, but by ordinary people adapting to extraordinary circumstances. It is both a page-turning mystery and a thoughtful meditation on how humanity persists—even quietly—amid division.
November 10, 2023
The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown
Andrew Brown lures us into the belly of the Middle East and plunges us into the lives of two vastly different characters - A retired detective in Tel Aviv and a Palestinian doctor in Gaza City.
Avi Dahan mourns his beloved wife. Khalid Mansour and his family confront the brutal reality of living in a war zone. They were friends once … or might have been. But the Middle East wrenches them apart and leaves them both floundering in a whirlpool of disappointment, resentment, loss, and betrayal.
A mysterious corpse shows up in Khalid’s emergency room and he feels duty-bound to investigate. Clues hint at an intriguing history and forbidden love. But this is a chaotic war zone, and the details of death do not really matter. Yet, Khalid needs to know about this one, and there is someone who could help him.
Brown’s seventh novel is a stunning, off the charts read. The author’s ability to take us right into his characters’ hearts, is matched by the skill of gradually weaving different strands into one another and building the tension to breaking point.
My crystal ball tells me that The Bitterness of Olives is the author’s ticket to the stars. If you read only one book for the rest of this year, make it this novel.
Spoiler alert – I needed a box of tissues.
Note – This review was written some weeks before the present situation in the Gaza strip.
October 21, 2025
It hasn’t been easy reading fiction set in Gaza given the extent of the destruction and devastation over the past 2 years. Andrew Brown’s 2023 publication ‘the Bitterness of Olives’ certainly provides perspective and much food for thought. It moves beyond simplistic binaries and has one reflecting on just how brutal life is in Gaza with the challenges faced in establishing a secular one-state solution affording all universal rights so vast. It explores the complexity of human relationships, emotions and the emptiness of feeling landless and stateless and being an involuntary refugee in an open-air concentration camp unsure of when and where a strike will take place and just how dehumanising it all is. It’s about just living and being and feeling powerless to manoeuvre with any agency in a space where there’s little to no space to counter an entire machinery that is inhumane, inhuman and acts with pure Machiavellian intent. We think of love and intimacy and what it means… we see how all that is inconsequential across generations with downstream impacts despite attempts to mend wounds, broken spirits, misunderstandings, social upheaval and disintegration. Characters are trying to find meaning and connection and yet the violence doesn’t even give generations the chance to heal. The only character who has the chance to do so and to reconnect with his son on the other side of the world provides a glimmer of hope that the ideology behind the machine can be overcome with introspection, loss and the fear of losing any semblance of being ….
September 20, 2025
A fabulous read! Andrew Brown has researched his subject matter so well - I learned a great deal from this novel which is based on fact. The story revolves around a retired, widowed Israeli detective living in Tel Aviv and a Moslem doctor living in Gaza - only because his wife is a devout Palestinian.
The harsh reality of life in Gaza is described and the conflicting emotions of the doctor who doesn’t have to live there. The horrific injuries he has to deal with and the battle to protect his family, highlight what it must be like to live there. He has a brief encounter with his long ago friend the detective, when they were both living in Tel Aviv. Similarly the detective finds his life meaningless and guilt ridden. As expected this was not a happy read but one filled with empathy and understanding of the terrible predicament of the inhabitants of Gaza.
The harsh reality of life in Gaza is described and the conflicting emotions of the doctor who doesn’t have to live there. The horrific injuries he has to deal with and the battle to protect his family, highlight what it must be like to live there. He has a brief encounter with his long ago friend the detective, when they were both living in Tel Aviv. Similarly the detective finds his life meaningless and guilt ridden. As expected this was not a happy read but one filled with empathy and understanding of the terrible predicament of the inhabitants of Gaza.
April 11, 2024
Quite an amazing book. And to think it was written before the events of 7 October 2023 occurred, and published shortly thereafter.
The writing is beautiful in places and the characters memorable. The story comprises a number of elements and is told in a way where it all comes together at the end together and includes some of the history which gave rise to the current situation between Israel and Gaza.
A book which will remain with me for a long time and which, I think, should be read by as many people as possible. There are so many innocent people on both sides who just want to get on and live their lives.
The writing is beautiful in places and the characters memorable. The story comprises a number of elements and is told in a way where it all comes together at the end together and includes some of the history which gave rise to the current situation between Israel and Gaza.
A book which will remain with me for a long time and which, I think, should be read by as many people as possible. There are so many innocent people on both sides who just want to get on and live their lives.
June 25, 2024
This is one of those rare books that occupies your mind and moods for days after you read the last page. Deeply moving and gut-wrenchingly honest, it vividly describes the history and daily reality of those involved in the Middle Eastern conflict. The meticulous research behind it shines through, providing enlightening insights into the history and dynamics of the region—especially for those previously unfamiliar with it. In light of the rising death toll in Gaza, this book becomes even more significant. It offers a poignant, necessary perspective that everyone ought to read, making it a powerful and urgent story in our current times.
September 23, 2025
Disappointing ending. In the end, yet another biased book against Israel.
I liked the research but had to scoff at the final scene where the policeman "came to his senses".
None of the Palestinians supported Hamas. Oh yes, and terrible Israel, killing the teenagers who throw stones at them on Fridays.
Also, what did the old woman's story really add to the whole book? What a terrible life she caused herself. And the caricature who was her sister, naturally, this was the person who was pro-Israel. Her anger to be kicked out of Iraq as a Jew could hardly be blamed on Israel.
Disappointing.
I liked the research but had to scoff at the final scene where the policeman "came to his senses".
None of the Palestinians supported Hamas. Oh yes, and terrible Israel, killing the teenagers who throw stones at them on Fridays.
Also, what did the old woman's story really add to the whole book? What a terrible life she caused herself. And the caricature who was her sister, naturally, this was the person who was pro-Israel. Her anger to be kicked out of Iraq as a Jew could hardly be blamed on Israel.
Disappointing.
March 17, 2024
Phew, for me this was a really heavy read. It was published a few weeks before the events of 7th October which made it an even more difficult read. There are no uplifting moments in this book, until the very end. I really struggled – I felt very emotional and had to take breaks from reading and digest what I was reading. It’s well written, building up tension and exposing the different victims of war. The book explores the nature of strongly held beliefs, conflict, friendships, families, and forbidden love. I had to finish reading it, but it was extremely heavy going for me.
May 1, 2024
A mystery story set in Gaza and Israel doesn’t do this book justice. Well developed characters interwoven into a magnificent plot with overlays of the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Love, loss, the personal crisis religion can bring and friendship are just some of the themes running through the book. Beautifully written and not to be ignored.
October 22, 2024
The writing is SUPERB, but think it's one of the saddest books I've read. It's a very balanced but utterly tragic account of two special people, a Jewish detective and a Palestinian Dr, who both try to work for the good of both sides. It's a story of the Middle East tragedy and the events that unfold in their lives. Bitter is a very apt title
December 28, 2024
I learnt more about the realities and likely never-ending standoff than what's in the news. Both sides are doomed to suffer endlessly and uselessly. With thousands of traumatised people, like the characters in the book, as the unseen flotsam. A bitter story indeed.
January 3, 2024
So sad, yet so addictive. A wonderful novel that also helped me untangle some of the what/where/how/why in amongst all the turmoil of this protracted Israeli/Arab conflict.
January 21, 2024
Compelling story woven around relationships across Gaza and Israel.
August 31, 2024
It will be worth it if you can get through the first few chapters. It's a slow start, but once you're into the book's heart, it is captivating, intriguing yet sad.
September 8, 2024
A must-read
Brilliant. Beautifully written. The sadness of all sides. Friendship and love and pain and loss. One of the best books I've ever read.
Brilliant. Beautifully written. The sadness of all sides. Friendship and love and pain and loss. One of the best books I've ever read.
October 12, 2024
Exquisite
A harrowing book to read at this time, but a wonderfully clever approach to exposing the horrors Paletinians have to live through. A truly wonderful read.
A harrowing book to read at this time, but a wonderfully clever approach to exposing the horrors Paletinians have to live through. A truly wonderful read.
October 28, 2024
So pertinent at this time of full out destruction of Gaza and the plight Palestinians have lived through for so long.
February 10, 2025
I do not have adequate words to describe how crushingly beautiful this narrative is.
July 27, 2025
What a bittersweet, excellent book! A story of hurt, failure, but a man finding himself in the chaos of Israel and Gaza. Read it!
July 29, 2025
Very Good read - Shedding light on Gaza-Iseael situation
August 11, 2025
Dealt with the big and small very beautifully. So much tenderness and brutality in this book.
January 5, 2025
This was a beautiful book to read. Sad and poignant given the Gaza-Israel conflict which happened almost at the same time as the publication of this book.
I enjoyed the characters immensely. The writing style was simple but had me captivated and that sublime feeling of not wanting to put the book down, which I haven't experienced while reading in a while.
The only thing I didn't enjoy was the mystery aspect as it didn't quite make sense to me in terms of the premise for the why. There were some unanswered questions with the plot but it honestly didn't matter much. This is a beautiful book that could give a glimmer of insight into some of the complexities that played a role in the start of the current conflict.
A book I would easily recommend
I enjoyed the characters immensely. The writing style was simple but had me captivated and that sublime feeling of not wanting to put the book down, which I haven't experienced while reading in a while.
The only thing I didn't enjoy was the mystery aspect as it didn't quite make sense to me in terms of the premise for the why. There were some unanswered questions with the plot but it honestly didn't matter much. This is a beautiful book that could give a glimmer of insight into some of the complexities that played a role in the start of the current conflict.
A book I would easily recommend
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