With age, Yehoshua might have become a bit
senile, saying things about the Arab-Israeli dynamics that his younger self
would not have said, but The Lover is
one of his best works, and one that offers a deep and balanced portrayal of the
Yom Kippur war – at least for an absolute outsider like me.
Once the reader grasps the unique family
situation depicted in the book, he is bound to be perplexed to say the least –
or sceptical at the idea that an agreement like the one between the married
protagonists might actually work in real life. Ultimately, however, it doesn’t
matter if the agreement works or not: the book, somehow, does.
Like with some of McEwan’s novels it’s written
with such a delicate touch that it almost seems feminine, something I found
quite surprising. And the fact that a young Palestinian knows Israeli poems by
heart is not surprising, it’s sad, but the fact that he tries to conquer the
heart of an Israeli girl with those is incredibly endearing, and maybe – just maybe
– gives some hope.
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