Maror

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It's bad stuff on a global scale, and Tidhar uses the wide-angle lens of semi-disconnected episodes to bring together the sense that no one person really knows how awful it all is.

In closing, we join Cohen with his granddaughter, watching the fireworks in Israel, content in who and what he is.It’s subtly done and that’s no mean feat when dealing with such a complex subject as Israel, particularly in the period covered by the book. Payments made using National Book Tokens are processed by National Book Tokens Ltd, and you can read their Terms and Conditions here.

Maror is the story of a war for the soul of Israel – a dazzling spread of narrative gunshots across four decades and three continents. I did enjoy the writing and the most of the storylines but I didn't care if any of the protagonists survived.They met years earlier when, ambushed in Southern Lebanon, Nir raced away with the only Jeep and Benny was taken captive. Will catch your breath as it presents the history of Israel from unique points of view, with dazzling multi-generational scope.

The author took the book's title from the bitter herb of the Passover Seder meal and seems to have included everything he found unpleasant or distasteful in Israeli society, almost to the exclusion of anything else.Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness (2004), tracing his own biography and what it was like to live under the British mandate, was one. A smart and violent book that tells a history of the State of Israel through fragmented, interconnected chapters that rely on the reader to piece them back together. What truly sets "Maror" apart is its ability to challenge your preconceived notions and provoke thought. As a secular Jewish woman who first visited Israel soon after the Six Day War I found the book riveting but wonder who the audience for it will be?

With a lot of water under the bridge, and with serious international business they’ve pulled off as part of the same general organization, it feels like it’s over as they head behind a building to take a piss. Known for SF novels that provocatively push at the boundaries of genre, Israeli-born Tidhar now boldly employs noir with spectacular results.

But his death is also, of course, an excuse for another round of disproportionate retribution on the Palestinians, and thus Cohen pushes forward Israel's agenda once again. I fully admit that my knowledge of Israel and its history is lacking and I therefore found myself learning throughout this novel. Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness… Fade[s] into oblivion compared with Lavie Tidhar’s magnificent novel Maror, a panoramic look at four decades of the dark, despicable side of Israel, of death, corruption, violence and drugs… It’s a brilliant undertaking.