Almost Dead: A Novel

by Assaf Gavron

Politically incorrect, provocative, and steeped in wit and irony, a fast-paced tragicomedy about the perfectly ordinary madness in today's Middle East

A thirtysomething Tel Aviv businessman, Eitan "Croc" Einoch's life is turned upside down when he narrowly escapes a suicide bombing on the minibus he rides to work. When he lives through a second attack, and then a third, he becomes, reluctantly, a national media celebrity. Naturally, the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the attacks are less than happy. This embarrassing symbol of their failure—this "CrocAttack"—must be neutralized.

Meanwhile, Fahmi Sabih lies in a coma, quarrelling with his conscience. The young Palestinian suicide bomber has learned everything he knows about bombs, targets, and revenge from his brother. So why has Einoch survived? As Fahmi's story unfolds, it becomes clear that their paths are destined to cross again—for there is another bombing still to come—and then luck will change drastically for one or both of them. But who, if anyone, has right on his side?

Genres: Fiction, Israel, Middle East, Contemporary, Thriller, Jewish, Ebooks

336 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Assaf Gavron grew up in Jerusalem, studied in London and Vancouver, and now lives in Tel Aviv. He is the author of four prize-winning novels (Ice, Moving, Almost Dead, and Hydromania), and a short story collection. Gavron is highly regarded for his translations into Hebrew of the work of novelists including Philip Roth, J.D. Salinger and Jonathan Safran Foer.

Reviews

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Eitan Einoch (or “Croc” to his friends) spends his days counting time (literally) at what just might be the most boring office job in the history of the universe in Tel Aviv. Due to incessant nagging requests from his girlfriend, Croc rides a “Little No. 5” (a/k/a minibus) to and from the office each day, believing that any suicide bomber worth his salt wouldn’t waste his chance on 72 awaiting virgins by only blowing up a handful of victims. But then . . . .



Miraculously Croc survives with only a bit more than a headache. Remembering a conversation with a fellow passenger whose hinky meter was going off right before the big ka-boom, Croc decides to track down said passenger’s girlfriend in order to pass on his last words. On the way his car is caught in the crossfire of another targeted bus. Again, Croc proves that . . . .



(Ha! I have a sneaking suspicion Assaf Gavron never imagined a Destiny’s Child reference popping up in a review of his book, but I do what I do.)

And right when things are looking up . . . . .



Croc’s unheard of ability to beat death makes him a bit of a national hero, and that is how we come to meet Fahmi. Fahmi tells of his rise to want-to-be Palestinian suicide bomber from a hospital bed, where he lies in a coma – which made me keep picturing . . . .



*shudder*

The dual narratives rotate throughout the book, leading up to the inevitable moment when the men’s worlds intertwine.

I need to take a moment and give mad props to the ladies and gentlemen at the big (not to be confused with porny) library . . . .



Obviously not much needs to be done in order to get me to read . . . but dangling free stuff in front of me and presenting a list of recommendations to help me “Push My Shelf” has been quite the eye opener. I not only realized why some books (*cough The Red Tent cough*) should have continued to collect dust on my shelf, but I got to read this little gem I would have probably never even stumbled upon if it had not been for this challenge. It proposed some questions people all around the world should be asking themselves . . . .

“They talk about the Muslims, but who dropped two bombs on Japan and killed three hundred thousand?”

And presented some sage advice . . . .

“We need to be strong, not to be cowed. Everyone should get on with their lives. Get on buses. Drive on roads. Drink coffee! Because if we don’t have a normal life, what do we have left? We have to remain human beings. That’s the most important thing. That’s the only thing, I suppose. Because what are we if we’re not human beings? If we lose ourselves, then . . . well, we’ve lost.”

Somehow it managed to do it with a brilliant wit, as well.

Recommended to anyone else who wants to “push their shelf.” The glass is mine, though . . . .



Book # 5. Challenge complete! THE PINT GLASS IS MIIIIIIIINE.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eitan Enoch, who goes by the nickname Croc, is a fairly ordinary thirty-three year old man living in Tel Aviv with a super-anxious girlfriend, Duchi, and parents who moved back to America. But now, something unordinary is happening to Croc: he survives a suicide bomb attack. And then gunfire on the highway to Jerusalem. And then another suicide bomber's attack in a cafe while he is having coffee with the girlfriend of a man who died in the first attack. In the space of just a few days, Eitan becomes a bit of a local celebrity. The man they couldn't kill. A symbol for Jewish resistance, survival, persecution and God's favour.

In Palestine, the brothers behind all three attacks plot their fourth. Fahmi is still just a teenager but already he has been taught how to make bombs, while his older brother Bilahl organises everything, plots and plans and tries to make Fahmi to be as fundamentally zealous as he is. Their father wants Fahmi to go to university, to prosper and be happy and not become one of these super-religious nuts. But the power of Fahmi's brother is greater than his father's. Now he lies in a coma in a Jewish hospital, reliving the events that led to this point in his life and how he came to meet "the Croc", like him even, while his brother plans a way for Fahmi to kill him.

Eitan's focus is elsewhere. He isn't terribly concerned about being a target of Palestinian anger and righteousness. He's fallen in love with the girlfriend of a man who stood next to him on the bus, the same bus that blew up not long after Eitan got off it. He's become immersed in the puzzle of this man, Giora Guetta, and what he was doing in Tel Aviv that day, who he was meeting and why. The clues that will lead him to the answers lie in Giora's palm pilot, a device that escaped destruction by being propelled from the bus and into a tree. But it is only with the help of a young Palestinian man whom he befriends that he will understand any of it.

Almost Dead is partly meant as a comedy, according to the back of the book, but if it is one it is decidedly a black comedy. Told in chapters that alternate between Eitan's first-person narrative and Fahmi's first-person narrative, it has moments of irony but is actually as serious and heavy-hearted as it sounds, especially the Palestinian half. I didn't read it as a comedy. It was far too sad for that.

One of the novels' strengths is how it contrasts the lives of Palestinians with that of middle-class Jews living in Israel. It wasn't flattering, though it does always make me feel some hope that so many Israelites (such as the author) are sympathetic and understanding (and possibly angry about) the occupation of Palestine and what the Palestinians are forced to endure simply for living on land Israel's government wants. Obviously it's not quite that simple, and yet it is. Fahmi's chapters were heart-wrenching and complex and tragic. You can see how he got to where he was, you can see how stuck he is, and you can see how hard it is, once you're on a trajectory, to get off it.

In contrast, Eitan's life is more familiar, even if he lives in the midst of a war zone. He lives in an apartment with his girlfriend, Duchi, whom he doesn't seem to love all that much. He works for a company whose business is to find ways to save other companies time, and his reaction to surviving three separate attacks is one of stunned disbelief, shock, numbness, ambivalence, unconcern, deep concern, and a determination to distract himself completely with some strange, random mystery that really has nothing to do with him. He doesn't feel anger and doesn't even seem to be afraid. Like many middle class people, he struggles to have an opinion one way or the other, recognising that people on both sides are angry and hurt, and unwilling to draw either side's anger or hurt by expressing an opinion (as he noticeably fails to do on the talk show he's invited to be in). He's been living in Israel a long time, but doesn't seem to have spent any amount of time thinking about the issues that surround him.

The story is a little slow at times - that is to say, the middle is a bit slow - but it starts strong and picks up the pace more towards the end, where things start to really converge. I didn't find Eitan to be all that interesting a character, in the grand scheme of things, especially in light of Fahmi's more pivotal story. Yet, I couldn't say that one is more important than the other. They were both realistic, and both represented a truth about Israel and Palestine - not the only truth, but one of many. It is social commentary, and a critique of the situation, without proselytising or moralising: it gently probes the grey areas, the individual humans who help make up a vast and complicated tapestry of lives lived and lost and decisions made that can't be undone. Eitan's story seems like a distraction from this bigger story, but when the answers come in it reads more like an analogy, or a fable, or just a fuck-up in the midst of a bigger fuck-up. A "my god the world is a messy, screwed-up place of unpredictability." It both shakes its head at that and embraces it. I couldn't, in the end, decide what I thought, because it seemed to me that there was something going on here that I couldn't hope to capture and understand by simple virtue of the fact that I haven't lived lives anything like Eitan's or Fahmi's. That only makes me want to learn more, and be open to more perspectives, and to try harder at understanding something that is so much bigger than me and my life.

At its core, this is a book about humanity and the human experience; how, when you get right down to it, we are all the same, regardless of race or ethnicity or class or anything else. We're all human. We all feel and breathe and think and react and we all feel like we're in little isolated bubbles and we forget that everyone feels the same way. It's only when we reach out in search of a connection that we discover, or remember, that whether we're Israeli or Palestinian, Jewish or Muslim, we're still all human. Yet as a story, Almost Dead didn't quite manage to engage me or satisfy me, and what began with strength and charisma became a bit, well, ordinary, as if it lost the point it was trying to make in the flabby middle, and tried to recover at the end but by then the steam had gone out of it. Still, it's a story that will stay with you, and as a character Fahmi especially is so human you feel you can reach into the page and touch him. Hug him. Protect him. Save him. So human that you know you can't, you can only watch helplessly as walks the path of self-destruction in an attempt to find himself, stand up for his people, and live a just and meaningful life. It is tragic in its hollowness. These are the things that stay with me after reading this book, and so no, I couldn't read it as a comedy.

[Christopher Litsinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing that stands out about this "translation" is that one of the two translators is the original author of the Hebrew book. So it's easy to trust the translation here, and that let me settle right in and enjoy the tone of this book. It's young and modern, and definitely provides an insight into the lives of the young in Israel.
My favorite quote from the book - the main character describing the differences between himself and his girlfriend - provides a good sense of the tone and feel of a book:

The difference between me and Duchi, in one sentence, is this: I say, things will be all right, and if they aren’t, that’s all right too. Duchi says, things will not be all right, and if they are, that’s not all right either. OK, two sentences.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I didn't have time for the safe side. Who has?”

An immersive first chapter made even more impressive by the fact that the author translated his own work.* However, flipping to the next chapter to find that this was a dual point perspective book on a POV I didn't care for was disappointing.

* I laughed when I read the following quote in the book I was reading right after Croc Attack! by Andrew Sean Greer, “Less.”

“He wonders when their conversations had begun to sound like a novel in translation.”

Still, try out the first chapter just to see for yourself what it holds:



This review and more can be found on my blog.

[Hermien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Croc and Fahmi tell the story in alternate chapters which keeps up the suspense until the end. I felt the book was well balanced between the Israeli and Palestinian view points and gave a good insight into living in a world full of conflict.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I have to give Gavron credit for taking on the frightful task of writing a novel about the suicide bombings of the second intifada (and one which incorporates both Israeli and Palestinian voices), I was kind of underwhelmed for most of this. He's obviously trying to depict an awful period without resorting to cheap political stances, but he ends up with narration that seems so listless, so hopelessly casual most of the time, that this reads more like an early draft of a better book that just never got written.

The characterizations are weak and the development of them and the plot are a haphazard mess. He introduces far too many characters who revolve around Eitan and Fahmi's perspectives without having any sort of effect or real relevance within their points of view.

In spite of that, Gavron does do an excellent job at hinting at a few things; the sheer mental exhaustion from fear that everyone in this society faced at this time, the ambiguity of being a first generation Israeli, of being rooted in places like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem without being truly 'rooted' there, and of the passive misery which the IDF can inflict without firing a single rubber bullet, but simply by disrupting the basic, meager infrastructure which Palestinians live under, and of the casual racism/anti-semitism that have sadly become common currency on both sides of an intractable divide.

This might just be kind of an impossible topic to really write a solid novel about. Suicide bombings are already fraught with misery and hyperbolic emotions on so many levels, both direct and implicit, that trying to turn them into the centerpiece for literary fiction seems like a really dicey prospect, especially when the characters and plot are already on shaky territory to begin with.

[Martin Malík · Rating 4 out of 5]

Čítanie na leto. Na pláž s vôňou síry a TNT.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC from publisher

Every once in awhile, a book will find it's way into my hands that takes me completely by surprise. A book that grabs ahold of me and refuses to let go. Had it not been for a little something called work (you know, the place we go to do the things we have to do in order to get those little green papers that allow us to pay our bills?), I would have been done with this novel days ago.... because it was just so darn hard to put down!

It takes place in Tel Aviv - for the most part - and follows the deeply intertwined lives of two young men: Eitan ,a Jewish software salesman known to friends and family as 'The Croc', who miraculously survives multiple suicide bombings and Fahmi, heavily influenced by his older brother, who works along side the Palestinian suicide bombers preparing them to carry out their missions.

This is the third book I have read, back to back, that takes place outside of the United States. This is quite rare for me, and totally unintentional. The reason I make note of this is a slightly embarrassing one: I am geographically and culturally challenged. There. I said it. Phew. And I've been extremely lucky with my most recent reads (Agaat, The Case of the Missing Servant, and this one!).

Usually, reading novels that take place in other countries leaves me slightly confused, feeling disconnected from the characters because I simply cannot relate to or empathize with them.

With Almost Dead, not only did I read a fantastic story of survival and confusion, hatred and forgiveness, but I learned so much about a topic and a culture that I had no previous experience with or knowledge of before and I felt an intimate connection with the two main characters.

Gavron takes his readers into the mind of comatose Fahmi, who we quickly discover can hear and feel everything that is going on around him in the hospital but is unable to open his eyes or respond. This clearly frustrates him, and to escape his helplessness, he withdraws into memories - recalling all the events that led him to his current existence of complete dependance on his nurse and the machines that keep him alive ('one tube for piss, one tube for air').

A reluctant fighter in the war between two misunderstood and proud cultures, Fahmi follows his brothers lead, preparing the way for the suicide bombers - the men who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their beliefs, to take their rightful place beside their God. Though he does not want to give up his own life for the war, Fahmi uses his skills to create the belt bombs that these men will detonate.

Simultaneously, Gavron moves us through the chaotic moments of Eitan's life as he learns of the suicide bombing of Little Bus Number 5 moments after he stepped off of it. Feeling guilty, he tracks down the Shuli - girlfriend of the man who sat next to him on the Little Bus in order to pass on a message. This decision puts The Croc on a journey of crazy coincidences - surviving the sniper shootings on the road to Jerusalem, and another suicide bomber attack at a local coffee shop. Eitan gains celebrity status, joins a therapy group, and pulls off an amateur investigation to find out just what secrets the man on the Little Bus was concealing.

Incredibly paced, the book picks up speed from page one and refuses to slow down. The side by side chapters of Eitan and Fahmi begin to narrow the gaps, pushing through the memories of the past into the present - connecting our two storylines in a perfectly timed finale.

Little by little, Gavron gives the readers enough information to begin connecting the dots on their own. But that does nothing to stop you from wanting to see how it all comes together.

I love books that get me thinking about the events that have taken place in my life - how much of what happens to me is brought about due to the decisions I've made? How much of it was made to happen by someone or something else?

If only I had left the house 5 minutes earlier, or taken the SUV instead of the car, or eaten my breakfast at home instead of taking it in the car with me - would I have missed hitting that deer? If I hadn't quit my old job, and started at the new one on the same day as my husband, would we have met somewhere else, still fallen in love, and gotten married?

If Harper Perennial hadn't sent me an email offering a copy of this book for review, would I have eventually bought it and read it on my own? If I read this book 3 years ago, or 2 year from now, would I have loved it as much as I do now?

Ladies and Gentlemen - meet my Next Best Book. Don't miss this one. It may become your Next Best Book as well!

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contrasting humour with suspense, Assaf Gavron's Almost Dead tells the story of two contrasting characters: a mid-thirties Israeli yuppie nicknamed 'Croc,' who works for a time management company, with Fahmi, a reluctant Palestinian bomb-maker and terrorist who, when we meet him, is in a coma recalling his life. Croc becomes a minor celebrity because he survives three terror attacks. Fahmi is trying to understand his life and how he got where he is. It becomes evident early on that the two are heading for a collision course because Fahmi's older brother thinks Croc should be taken out as he's become a symbol to the people in Tel Aviv. Gavron was educated in London and Vancouver and brings both an insider's view of Israel, where he grew up, and an outsider's jaundiced view of both the country and its modern reality TV media landscape and the culture of celebrity. Mixing satire with a detective story, keeps the suspense building and the book is equal parts wit and a serious comment on modern Israeli life. It's dead-on in both aspects and a must-read for anyone trying to fathom the complexities of the Middle East or for anyone who enjoys a thriller. Top marks for Gavron! - BH.

[Maya Panika · Rating 4 out of 5]

One suicide bomber blows up a bus. Another blows himself up in a café. A sniper attacks a busy road – Eitan Enoch, known to all as the ‘Croc’ survives all three incidents and finds himself an unwilling celebrity, a symbol of Israeli resistance. Meanwhile, a Palestinian would-be terrorist lies in a coma in a Jerusalem hospital, trying to figure out what has happened to him and how his fate fits that of the Croc.

Croc Attack is pitched as a dark comedy – to be honest, it’s not really that funny, but it is a very engaging page turner with a tragi-comic feel and a lot to say about everyday life and attitudes in Israel. Dark, depressing and highly recommended.

[Jonfaith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark a point for unlikely success. While not Woody Allen, there is a space for potential chuckles. Who would imagine that a novel predicated on suicide bombings could harness a humorous edge while tastefully plumbing the edges of the human condition? The plot doesn't exactly transcend or transform, but there remains a grist, somehow a smoke and beer appear applicable.

[Hamster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is advertised as being darkly funny. But it isn't really. The premise is the funniest thing about it, but you only get a couple laughs out of it while reading the actual book. That's fine with me - given the subject matter I think some seriousness is called for. This is less a critique of the book and more of the choice of blurb marring the front cover.

The book itself is very well done. It has two narrators, one an Israeli (Croc) and the other a Palestinian (Fahmi). At first Croc is much more interesting, whereas Fahmi's chapters are miserable to read. But after I was a full third of the way through the book, Fahmi started to grow on me. By the end I was invested in both.

Perhaps most striking about this book is how fair it is. It fully acknowledges the evils done by both Israelis and Palestinians, and the sufferings both must deal with. This book is not intended to villify either side. Even extremists are presented as understandable, albeit wrong.

No, this book doesn't have any easy answers for the conflict in Israel and Palestine, but it takes big strides in trying to encourage empathy. And a little empathy would go a long ways. This is by no means a perfect book, but it is a very good one, accomplishing something that our world needs desperately right now.

[Hannah Rosenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

תנין ניצל מפיגוע אחרי פיגוע, במקביל אנו עוקבים אחרי מחשבותיו של פהמי, פלסטינאי שרוצה לפגוע בכמה שיותר יהודים. תמונה מדוייקת של הקונפליקט הישראלי פלסטינאי. כולם בהלם, הלם קרב. תנין מנסה לחיות את חייו, מנותק מהסכסוך. הוא לא היה חייל אמיץ במיוחד, ולפתע הוא הופך לסמל גבורה ישראלי. פהמי לא רוצה להיות שהיד..
המון רעיונות בסיפור, המסופר בקצב מהיר למדי : חבל על הזמן.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been meaning to read this one for a while, ever since randomly finding in in the library. Not only is it good for international reading, but it addresses a situation that’s as timely today as it was a decade or so ago when the book came out and it’ll probably be for quite some time to come, since no resolution seems to ever emerge…the Israel/Palestinian conflict. And sure you read about it in the news often enough, but it just isn’t the same as hearing a local tell a story n in this case create a fictional one about it. So in the cleverly interweave dual narratives we meet Eitan who goes by Croc (yes, it will be explained) and Fahmi. An Israeli and a Palestinian. A well to do man and one struggling to get by. One brushes by death, one quite literally almost dead. Two very different sides of the fence. Croc gets off the bus right before it’s blown up, then finds himself right near and yet surviving two more similar attacks. This serendipitous chain of events earns him something of a quick celebrity status, but does nothing for his personal life as he begins to slowly unravel under the dark cloud of PTSD. Fahmi’s story is narrated from a bed where he lies in a comatose state, followed by what readers presume must have been an act of extreme violence. It takes a while for the plots to intertwine and once they do, you just know that train is bound for tragedy, but it nevertheless makes for a very compelling read. In a way both characters, especially Fahmi, are destined for their outcomes, shaped by the lay of their lands and the interminable unsolvable conflicts within them. The author doesn’t dress the story up in happy colors, doesn’t create unrealistic constructs to ease the readers’ conscience, there’s just a certain tragic inevitability to it all, but…interestingly enough, it’s told in a fairly, well not lighthearted per se, but oddly upbeat fashion, kind of darkly humorous in that grim fatalistic way you would imagine a person might come to possess from living in such circumstances. I found that the tone worked very well for a novel that otherwise had a risk of ending up either too bleak or too preachy or both. That and the perfectly even, nuancedly balanced consideration each character gets really made this novel. The author doesn’t seem to take sides, which you’d think would be pretty much near impossible, or if he does, his writing doesn’t convey them. All he does is present characters and situations and you, the reader, can be the judge. Or just an audience enjoying a good story. Either way I liked this one. I found it interesting and emotionally engaging and surprisingly entertaining for such a complex subject matter. Very nice introduction to the author indeed. Recommended.

[Ulysses · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept behind this book-- two intertwined stories of an Israeli schlub who survives three consecutive terror attacks in one week and the reluctant Palestinian jihadi in a coma whose older brother organized the attacks-- induced me to pick it up on a whim despite having no prior knowledge about the book or its author. Half of the way in, I was questioning my judgment and finding myself reminded of that key truth of modern literature: a neat-sounding concept doth by no means a decent book make. However, I bit the bullet, continued onward, and found myself pleasantly rewarded as the second half of the book quickly redeemed the relatively mediocre first.

The inner monologue of the two protagonists reads like the inner monologue of a 17-year-old, and the plotlines ultimately fall a few yards short of meeting up in a logical and satisfying fashion, considering the tone of dramatic inevitability with which the characters' parallel stories are presented. On the other hand, I commend the author for his artful job of creating two opposed (or are they really?) characters that the reader can identify with equally-- the sympathetic Palestinian terrorist in particular, considering that the author is an Israeli Jew. And the ending, despite its above-mentioned failure to sew the two plotlines together as completely the first 99% of the book had seemed to be promising, is still artfully executed and far more touching than I had been expecting. A thoroughly decent book, overall.

[Roxani Spanou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Η ιστορία εκτυλίσσεται στο Τελ Αβίβ και ακολουθεί τις ζωές δύο νεαρών ανδρών. Του Εϊταν , γνωστός σε φίλους ως "the Croc" ο οποίος επιβιώνει θαυματουργικά από πολλές βομβιστικές επιθέσεις αυτοκτονίας και του Φαχμί ο οποίος εργάζεται με τους Παλαιστίνιους βομβιστές αυτοκτονίας οι οποίοι προετοιμάζονται να πραγματοποιήσουν τις αποστολές τους.

Συνήθως η ανάγνωση μυθιστορημάτων που λαμβάνουν χώρα σε χώρες της Ανατολής με αφήνουν ελαφρώς μπερδεμένη , αισθάνομαι αποσυνδεδεμένη από τους χαρακτήρες γιατί απλά δεν μπορώ να συσχετιστώ μαζί τους.

Το Croc Attack όμως πρόκειται όχι μόνο για μια φανταστική ιστορία επιβίωσης , μίσους και συγχώρεσης αλλά έμαθα και τόσα πολλά για ένα θέμα και μία κουλτούρα για την οποία δεν γνώριζα και ένιωσα μια οικειότητα με τους δύο βασικούς χαρακτήρες.

Καταιγιστικός ρυθμός από την πρώτη κιόλας σελίδα.Τα κεφάλαια , το ένα μετά το άλλο περιγράφουν τις μνήμες του παρελθόντος συνδέοντας τις δύο ιστορίες σε ένα τέλειο φινάλε!
Από τα καλύτερα βιβλία που διάβασα τον τελευταίο χρόνο.

[Ayelet Waldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now this one I really liked.

[Reuven · Rating 5 out of 5]

איך להגדיר את הספר המדהים הזה.
כולם קוראים לו 'תנין' כי שמו- איתן אינוך- מצלצל כמו 'היי תנינוך'.
חייו מתנהלים די בשגרה. מגורים בתל אביב, בת הזוג דוצ'י שהיתה אמורה להינשא לו ביום שנפלו המגדלים בניו יורק והחתונה בוטלה כי יום קודם, ב-10 לספטמבר 2001, החליטה אמא שלה למות מהתקף לב.
לתנין עבודה לא שגרתית בחברת 'טיימס ארו'- חץ הזמן. ייעול וחיסכון הזמן בעולם בו הכל נמדד בשניות ולאנשים אין זמן וסבלנות. שירות מודיעין טלפוני במנהטן. 5.5 מיליון שיחות נכנסות ביום. שנייה פחות לשיחה, 5.5 מיליון שניות הם 63 ימי עבודה שניתן לחסוך ביום והתוכנה של החברה שווה 10,000 דולר ליום. תנין המספרים.
עד היום הגורלי שאחריו חייו לא יהיו לעולם אותו דבר. הוא עולה על קו קטן תשע, מונית שירות. אחד מהם נראה לחלק מהאחרים חשוד. הוא מתוודע במקרה לנוסע עם פאלם, גיורא גואטה הירושלמי. במעלית הוא לא שומע את ה'בום' של המיניבוס שהתפוצץ. מחבל מתאבד. את הפאלם הוא מוצא במקרה על עץ בלי מושג איך הצעצוע הזה ישנה הכל.
ומנגד, בילאל הקיצוני מהכפר מְרָיֶיר, המוח המתכנן. אחיו פהמי שהגורל היתל גם בו.
תנין ניצל במזל עיוור מעוד שני פיגועים קטלניים. הראשון, ירי קטלני בדרך לירושלים לשם נסע לחפש את חברתו של גיורא שמצא את שמה בצעצוע האלקטרוני. אור הזרקורים, ראיונות, חשיפה אדירה שלא ברצונו. תרבות הסלבריטי הנבובה חוגגת את הגיבור הלאומי החדש, תנין הפיגועים.
ובילאל מתכנן את 'האמא של הפיגועים'.
סיפורי שני צידי המתרס מובאים לסירוגין. שני צירים עיקריים עליהם נשענת העלילה. יהודים וערבים. בין תל אביב, ירושלים, גבעות השומרון. כפרים ערביים וזכרונות של פהמי מסבו. ישראל המדממת והאבלה על מתיה בשיא תקופת הפיגועים בתחילת המילניום. הבכי, השנאה, מעצרים. קריאות "צריך להרוג את הבני זונות, למחוק את שכם וג'נין" ומהצד השני- "להילחם בשם אללה נגד הכיבוש". טראומה אישית ומדינית, סוג של הלם קרב. רק מי שחווה פיגוע עם הריח, הדם והצרחות יבין.
לאט לאט מתאחדים שני הצירים במקריות מצמררת ובלתי נתפסת.
יש עוד פכים קטנים שחוברים בסיפור המרתק. חברו של תנין, בר, אשף הגימטרייה. תנין=פיגוע אמש. האחים תאמר ואמין. הרופא המבוגר, האחות סווטלנה. חברים מהשירות הצבאי הקשה ופעולות צה"ל בשטחים. האחיות לולו בצד אחד ו'דפדף' (דפנה) בשני. מסעו המפרך של פהמי שבוע על גב חמור.
והכל מתלכד בספר מטלטל שאינו נותן מנוח.

[Leka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che cosa ci fa il tempo, quando ne abbiamo. Ovvero attacco del coccodrillo

La presentazione del libro racconta, secondo me, molto bene la storia, senza svelare troppi dettagli.
Dettagli che fanno la differenza.
Ci sono molte prevedibilità, è vero. Ma è un libro che non riuscivo a smettere di leggere.
E che mi ha fatto pensare pensieri trasversali.

Tra i molti, riflettevo sulla posizione di maggioranza pro Palestina (fuori dalla Palestina e lontano dalla Desta) e su quanta poca letteratura araba/palestinese sia tradotta (anche solo) in Italia.
Sul fatto che, generalmente -e purtroppo- pensiamo pensieri di altri sul conflitto arabo-israeliano (o israeliano-palestinese-arabo).
E che forse ripetiamo parole senza mai aver visitato una città palestinese o aver ascoltato un arabo israeliano. Senza averne mai letto nemmeno un rigo.
Sul fatto che sdoganiamo la crudeltà dell'esercito israeliano e non abbiamo mai guardato negli occhi un pilota della loro aviazione, o un soldato di leva quando prepara lo zaino, alla fine dei tre anni obbligatori sotto le armi, per il suo viaggio dell'oblio in Sudamerica o in India. O...

Lo so che se dovessimo parlare/prendere posizione solo di/riguardo a quello che conosciamo, la maggior parte del tempo io dovrei stare zitta. Ma alcune volte, stare in silenzio ed ascoltare aiuta a capire. Aiuta anche ad accorgersi dei silenzi degli altri.

Gavron, nelle 344 pagine di questo romanzo, mi ha fatto stare un po' in ascolto.
E quello che ho ascoltato mi è piaciuto. Molto.
Non perché sia perfetto. Ma perché l'ho sentito vero, pieno di umanità. Pieno di domande e di tentativi di risposta.
Ci sono i perdenti e ci sono i sopravvissuti. E non sempre i sopravvissuti sono i vincitori.

[Michael Lovito · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have very distinct memories of last summer watching crowds gather in Lafayette Square outside of the White House be dispersed with tear gas and batons all so Donald Trump could take an inane picture in front a church that didn't even want him there, wondering if my things were going to get very hair and if my roommate and I would have to leave Washington. Shortly after I watched that scene unfold I got a call from my boss at a job I hated that we had to re-do a proposal submission from earlier in the day because someone else had screwed up the pricing tables or something.

Point is, this book is OK but I can very much relate to the feeling of working in a terrible tech job under management who try to ignore the crises unfolding around you in the name of business as usual.

[Joke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this book very unplanned. One out of the only two books in english whose names sounded non-western in this second hand store. I looked inside and saw a map of Israel and Palestine. I went in def w some skepticism, very attentive to find any possible stereotyping etc. But no. The book is very good.
Two main characters, two viewpoints, the two sides. Both characters quite annoying at times. I think the book could do with introducing more history background somehow (idk how it could be included in a smooth way), for those who haven’t read about it.

[Chole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how both characters stories overlapped and came together right at the end. This was such a moving read, so full of emotion. For such a serious topic, it's also weirdly, darkly funny and ironic. Though I felt like the book was trying to send a message that war and hatred are pointless and awful, I felt immensely satisfied with the ending, even though you feel as if nothing has been resolved in this crazy world we live in. Such a great read.

[Charles Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and awful. There's so much anger, so much trauma, and Gavron was able to get it all on the page in a genuinely novel way. Israelis may be able to live this conflict while also trying to live normal lives (contrast to the Palestinian side of the book, where "normal lives" happen on the fringes of the struggle), but no one is exempt from the violence or the aftershocks.

[G.S. Richter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Works best as an allegory about the incessant blood-hatred between the Jews and Palestinians in Israel. A powerful story full of texture, somewhat hobbled by a clever framing device and staccato prose, both of which are understandable in context yet nonetheless irksome.

[Shahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 jumping head first into one of the delicate issues in israel and treating it with a rude gentleness.
Funny , sad , moving. great book

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it when people are allowed to be people. Not put into a pigeonhole. Not divided into the good vs the bad.

[Seffi Kogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Why don't people talk about Gavron as a giant of Israeli fiction?

[Aishwarya Damodar · Rating 2 out of 5]

A relatable well-written tragicomic presenting conflicting lives of the common man.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

It is well written and looks at the middle east issue from both sides. Held my interest throughout. I recommend it.

[Gil Adler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for entertainment