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Greater Than a Wall
Two worlds and families collide with the arrival of the wall across the West Bank. When an Israeli youth is killed by a Palestinian youth in suspicious circumstances, it falls on the reluctant Aron Lunzer from the right-wing Israeli media to question the inconsistencies in the official report. His investigation leads him to Jewish and Islamic extremists and to a Lebanese Christian who curses like a pure Sephardic Jew and reminds him of his dead wife. Together, they uncover the events that led to the deaths of the two youths in a race to foil a suicide mission that is set to ignite a third intifada. As Brexit UK and Trumps America continue to divide societies, this compelling novel provides a stark reminder of what can happen to communities when walls are built between people.
432 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 4, 2024
What a book. Reminds me again why historical fiction remains my favourite genre. Every time I came across Mohsen as I read the book my eyes became blurry, hot, painful and wet. Never did I imagine such a happy ending for him. The first one third of the book is filled with so much killing. The author is brutal with his characters and no one seems safe. So naturally I did not expect the young Mohsen to get far. What a breath of fresh air this has been! comes close to being equal to "A Thousand Splendid Suns". It is so easy to get lost in the Middle East, especially if one is addicted to BBC and CNN., To see the region as nothing but a "them" vs "us", to forget that human beings who love and aspire for normal lives like anyone else actually reside there. Thank you Mr Gibeily!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2023
Greater Than a Wall is a vividly written and much needed tale especially as the middle east remains so volatile and is continuously torn appart politically. It's tragic and starkly violent at times, but also humourous, and showcases different types of love. The twists and turns are addictively jarring, and if I could read it for the first time again I would in a heartbeat.
February 21, 2024
Excellent middle eastern literary fiction
I loved this book and will be widely recommending it.
Conflict in the Middle East has been in the news all our lives and yet if you are not directly connected with the region it is easy to be ignorant about such a complex situation. I really like a writer who can tell a good story while teaching me something I should know without making me feel I’m being lectured to. Having grown up in Lebanon Gibeily knows from close at hand the issues of this region and is therefore well equipped for this task.
To some extent he reminds me of the only other Lebanese writer I’ve read: Amin Maalouf whose massively readable historical non-Eurocentric novels also enlighten.
I suppose it would be described also as a thriller?It is certainly a novel with a page turning plot, but it is more than that: set against the backdrop of the second Intifada and the building of the wall, it also reaches back 2 more decades to the Lebanon of Gibeily ‘s childhood.
But is it even handed? It may depend where you stand politically, but it looks like a fine balancing act: good and bad Christian Lebanese, good and bad Palestinians, good and bad IDF and good and bad Israeli citizens. Walking us through this world Gibeily has a fluid beautiful prose style and reminds us what is “Greater than a Wall.”
A small caveat: I didn’t love the first 70 pages which were a bit tell not show, so if you don’t love it at first don’t be put off.
I would also say it would also be worth reading just to come across the Lord’s Prayer in a translation from the Aramaic: a version infused with a fresh depth of meaning whether or not you come from any of the monotheistic faiths represented here.
I loved this book and will be widely recommending it.
Conflict in the Middle East has been in the news all our lives and yet if you are not directly connected with the region it is easy to be ignorant about such a complex situation. I really like a writer who can tell a good story while teaching me something I should know without making me feel I’m being lectured to. Having grown up in Lebanon Gibeily knows from close at hand the issues of this region and is therefore well equipped for this task.
To some extent he reminds me of the only other Lebanese writer I’ve read: Amin Maalouf whose massively readable historical non-Eurocentric novels also enlighten.
I suppose it would be described also as a thriller?It is certainly a novel with a page turning plot, but it is more than that: set against the backdrop of the second Intifada and the building of the wall, it also reaches back 2 more decades to the Lebanon of Gibeily ‘s childhood.
But is it even handed? It may depend where you stand politically, but it looks like a fine balancing act: good and bad Christian Lebanese, good and bad Palestinians, good and bad IDF and good and bad Israeli citizens. Walking us through this world Gibeily has a fluid beautiful prose style and reminds us what is “Greater than a Wall.”
A small caveat: I didn’t love the first 70 pages which were a bit tell not show, so if you don’t love it at first don’t be put off.
I would also say it would also be worth reading just to come across the Lord’s Prayer in a translation from the Aramaic: a version infused with a fresh depth of meaning whether or not you come from any of the monotheistic faiths represented here.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews