A review by andrew_russell
Apeirogon: A Novel by Colum McCann
5.0
There are excellent books and then...then there are books that confound anything you could possibly have expected. Sometimes this is due to a limited reading range but I like to tell myself that it's entirely down to the quality of the book and in the case of Colum McCann's Apeirogon, I find it hard to believe this not to be the case.
McCann's book uses a landmark event in two men's lives - the death of their young daughters - to draw light to an area of the geopolitical sphere that, although often featured in news reports, is one that all too many of us remain ignorant of; the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The two men in question are Bassam (Palestinian) and Rami (Israeli), both of whose daughters were only children when they tragically lost their lives. Rami's daughter Smadar, was killed in a suicide bombing. Bassam's daughter was killed by a rubber bullet, fired by a border guard. And that's the plot in a nutshell. There isn't much there in terms of the scope of the plot but there is heaps and heaps in terms of it's depth.
McCann employs an unusual structure to this work. The story is real. Bassam and Rami, their daughters and indeed, everyone featured in the book are also real-life individuals. Some may even go so far as to class this as non-fiction but McCann himself classes it as a 'hybrid novel', spanning the gap between the world of fiction and non-fiction. It has 1001 chapters, some a single sentence, some several pages. They are fragments, describing life in the conflict. From detailing the devastation which a suicide bombing can inflict upon the human body, to describing the use of Skunk water and sound bombs (both used for riot control purposes), to writing of the wildlife which inhabits the region, as well as significant recent and long-past historical events, McCann really does flavour the whole novel with just the right level of sauce to let the reader know the time and place he is writing of.
Right in the middle of the book lie two of it's most memorable chapters. These are those rare examples of chapters in this novel which are more than a single page in length. And every word is worth the reading. They detail the rollercoaster journey of emotions that both Rami and Bassam have travelled on to get to the mental space which they now inhabit. Both met through a group of parents who have lost loved ones in the conflict and who regularly congregate to try and find solace whilst dealing with the grief that accompanies their loss. No step of either Bassam's or Rami's journey is easy and yet they travel the globe, using the adversity of their own experience as a means of teaching others that no obstacle should be so great as to prevent us all from seeking reconciliation in the most trying of circumstances. It's particularly timely, given the divisiveness with which certain political groups are currently carving up society along lines of race, religion and political belief.
One of the most enjoyable stylistic flourishes which McCann brings to the fore in this work, is the linkage between two or more of the tiny chapters which he writes. In one of these chapters, he refers to the significance of a three gun salute. In the next, we are told of the three second intervals between the bombs which killed Smadar. These tenuous and yet powerful 'linkages' are a key trademark of the book and although McCann makes it look easy to do, writing in this style, whilst holding the reader's interest and attention, is nothing if not challenging.
There is little that can be said about this book that will serve as a substitute for simply reading it. In summary, it's powerful, moving, multi-faceted, thought-provoking and not least of all, absolutely fascinating. I would be extremely surprised if it does not garner a prize or two in the coming year.
McCann's book uses a landmark event in two men's lives - the death of their young daughters - to draw light to an area of the geopolitical sphere that, although often featured in news reports, is one that all too many of us remain ignorant of; the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The two men in question are Bassam (Palestinian) and Rami (Israeli), both of whose daughters were only children when they tragically lost their lives. Rami's daughter Smadar, was killed in a suicide bombing. Bassam's daughter was killed by a rubber bullet, fired by a border guard. And that's the plot in a nutshell. There isn't much there in terms of the scope of the plot but there is heaps and heaps in terms of it's depth.
McCann employs an unusual structure to this work. The story is real. Bassam and Rami, their daughters and indeed, everyone featured in the book are also real-life individuals. Some may even go so far as to class this as non-fiction but McCann himself classes it as a 'hybrid novel', spanning the gap between the world of fiction and non-fiction. It has 1001 chapters, some a single sentence, some several pages. They are fragments, describing life in the conflict. From detailing the devastation which a suicide bombing can inflict upon the human body, to describing the use of Skunk water and sound bombs (both used for riot control purposes), to writing of the wildlife which inhabits the region, as well as significant recent and long-past historical events, McCann really does flavour the whole novel with just the right level of sauce to let the reader know the time and place he is writing of.
Right in the middle of the book lie two of it's most memorable chapters. These are those rare examples of chapters in this novel which are more than a single page in length. And every word is worth the reading. They detail the rollercoaster journey of emotions that both Rami and Bassam have travelled on to get to the mental space which they now inhabit. Both met through a group of parents who have lost loved ones in the conflict and who regularly congregate to try and find solace whilst dealing with the grief that accompanies their loss. No step of either Bassam's or Rami's journey is easy and yet they travel the globe, using the adversity of their own experience as a means of teaching others that no obstacle should be so great as to prevent us all from seeking reconciliation in the most trying of circumstances. It's particularly timely, given the divisiveness with which certain political groups are currently carving up society along lines of race, religion and political belief.
One of the most enjoyable stylistic flourishes which McCann brings to the fore in this work, is the linkage between two or more of the tiny chapters which he writes. In one of these chapters, he refers to the significance of a three gun salute. In the next, we are told of the three second intervals between the bombs which killed Smadar. These tenuous and yet powerful 'linkages' are a key trademark of the book and although McCann makes it look easy to do, writing in this style, whilst holding the reader's interest and attention, is nothing if not challenging.
There is little that can be said about this book that will serve as a substitute for simply reading it. In summary, it's powerful, moving, multi-faceted, thought-provoking and not least of all, absolutely fascinating. I would be extremely surprised if it does not garner a prize or two in the coming year.