Reviews for A Palestine affair

The average rating for A Palestine affair based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-12-19 00:00:00 bohdan papisz Didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. The writing itself is beautiful and the plot fascinating, but I felt I didn't have enough historical background knowledge to really feel immersed in the novel's universe. The author does a little bit of setting the scene but not a lot, and so what you don't know about 1920s British occupied Palestine you have to look up for yourself, and that's not exactly a quick dictionary.com word definition you're looking up. Furthermore, the characters weren't quite the kind I find myself relating to. None of them captured my interest for too long. Joyce did at first, but her odd back and forth between her husband and her younger lover made her hard to sympathize with, and it was difficult to tell what she really wanted. Her indecisiveness also didn't even feel too much like her character but rather how the author felt towards her when writing her. But that's my just my irrelevant and small opinion. If you're interested in Jewish history or history about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I would definitely recommend this book. However, I'd recommend it only to people who have a strong interest as well as extensive background knowledge on British occupied Palestine.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-12 00:00:00 Marc Alston Really 3 1/2 stars. The story takes place in Palestine after WWI, when the Jews and the Arabs are under British rule (pre-Israel, as in Exodus). Mark, an English painter and Joyce, his non-Jewish American wife, have come to Palestine seeking some kind of relief, him from a bad review and she to help the Zionist cause. Mark has been a terrible husband for years, ignoring his wife and her needs, to focus on his painting. As soon as they arrive, an Orthodox Jew stumbles into their yard, and dies in their arms after having been stabbed. A police investigation ensues and a homosexual boy is suspected of the crime. But the government has a problem; if they arrest the boy the Arab community will riot, and if they arrest a Jew, there will be violent protests. Politics always play a big part in the Middle East, even in a murder. I don't want to give the whole plot away, but suffice it to say, Joyce's Zionism plays a part. There is love and sex and guns, religion and politics involved throughout. Pretty good stuff! I liked the writing style and it was an easy read that held my attention. The Goodreads description is a good plot summary.