Reviews

The Debba by Avner Mandelman

sandin954's review against another edition

5.0

I found this to be quite the absorbing read though very different. From the first page I was swept up into the story even though the main character was not the most appealing and the plot, at times, seemed most unlikely.

stacialithub's review

4.0

I'm really glad I read this one. It's a decent mystery/thriller (quite a few twists & turns & there are plenty of various military/police/secret ops groups in here!), but more interesting to me are the history/questions/issues it raises about Israelis & Palestinians -- from the 1940s through the 1970s (when the book is set). I'd definitely recommend it if you are interested in the history & politics of the area. The book also fit in nicely with my Banned Books reading as it revolves around a controversial play that is to be staged & the various efforts made to quash the production of the play.

bent's review

3.0

I'm going to give this one a nice easy one right down the centre of the plate. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this book - it was interesting, but I couldn't really relate. The whole setting of Israel was one that I don't know much about, and as a result, I found it hard to relate to or understand the context of the story. That said, I did find it interesting, so I'll give it three stars.

scotchneat's review

3.0

A Canadian man goes to Israel to clean up his father's affairs after his death and ends up in a thriller related to an old manuscript of a play that he decides to re-stage.

I think I learned a bit about Israel's recent history through this book. And Mandelman examines Jewish-Arab relations on a personal level, which gets away from a lot of the rhetoric swirling about the characters in the larger political context.

There is an element of supposed supernatural in the book, but it doesn't go too far and it ties into the climax, so it works for the most part.