A review by epellicci
Apeirogon by Colum McCann

informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Apeirogon is a book which is poetic and intellectual. Heavily guided by true events, it reads more like a biography than fiction at times as it follows the lives of Bassam and Rami - a Palestinian and an Israeli brought together by the shared tragedy and grief that comes with loosing a child. I loved that McCann used this book to focus on people on an individual and personal level. Apeirogon paints neither side as the unequivocal 'bad guys'. Instead McCann acknowledges atrocities on both sides of the Occupation and explores politics, power, and propaganda as the forces of evil, while allowing his characters to simply be people - products of their circumstances who have done bad and good. He allows them to go on a very human journey, to feel and discover at a pace which is believable. I was deeply immerse and moved by the prose, and left hopeful by the dialouge that McCann has created with this book. It is brutal, but also very tender and beautiful. 
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