A really good good book detailing a jailing of a UN employee the kidnapping of another UN employee and various attempted murders on the main character, who is also employed by the UN but is a Palestinian from Bethlehem.
The book takes place in the Gaza Strip in around 2010 and it was a explosive disaster even then
The author knows his subject and the area well as he was a middle east correspondent for 10 years in Israel for Time magazine. The book was a great intro to what a mess this part of the world is and why. ( )

Plus une plongée en plein chaos qu'une véritable enquête, quoique enquête il y ait. Original, touchant et très violent. ( )

Frankly I found this a very depressing read, and knowing that reality probably mirrors this fictitious tale in many of its grisly dimensions was very bitter to contemplate.
This is the second Omar Yussef mystery and it plays out in Gaza, a dump in every sense of the word according to the protagonists. The dirt, the sandstorms, the corruption, the religious zealotry, the garbage, the ruins, and so many deaths and corpses are the order of the day in that terrible place.

Omar Yussef comes to Gaza as part of a UN group. He is investigating with his UN boss the arrest of a colleague who is also a part time lecturer at Al-Azhar University. This innocuous beginning quickly spirals into something sinister as one UN man gets kidnapped and another is assasinated. Soon the corpses pile up among Palestinians rival factions from one killing to another revenge. I lost track of the motives, the agendas and the rivalries. What is left is the deep sense of futility as corrupt politicians fight it out and squabble over this pile of garbage that is Gaza. In this story Israeli violence and hostility do not exist; it is all about Palestinian internal strife. The violence between rival factions is extreme and almost mindless, and the distasteful part is that you cannot even dismiss LAW wielding fighters as far-fetched. Just because the events take place in Gaza, the craziest and the most mindless violence is possible.


A woman in the story says: "Sometimes I think that the only Palestinians who do not weep are the dead ones".
I was saddened by a little boy, who showed Omar Yussef the doves he is raising on the roof, an innocent child who would soon be struck by tragedy and grief. Nobody remains innocent for long in this environment. Yet people laugh and joke, they exchange wisecracks in the face of death and enjoy a distinct gallows humor, which rang very true. Those Palestinians are tough, and they can put up with a lot of suffering. Omar Yussef says: "I am Palestinian" by way of explanation of his tough nature and tolerance of hardship, but even he was pleased to leave the dust of Gaza, its graves and graveyards behind.
( )

Like the first Omar Yussef novel, the first page bears a superscription that tells us that "The crimes in this book are based on real events...the killers really killed this way, and those WHO died are dead just the same." The note of bitterness is obvious and we should remember that Matt Rees was for some years Jerusalem Bureau Chief for Time Magazine: he has lived the tedious repetition of plot, intrigue, counter plot and the lies of Middle East politics.
Omar Yussef is a Palestinian school teacher turned detective. This time, he is caught up in the turmoil of Gaza. Yussef is an interesting character. He’s in his fifties, a respectful family man, who is increasingly uncertain in his religion as a result of Islamic fundamentalists. It is interesting to read how he sees the world, especially his view about everyday life in Gaza and the political situation - a very human view.

This is an intriguing topical thriller, worth the marks alone for daring to set what seems a plausible and believable character amidst the mayhem of Gaza ( )

I happened to start reading this just before the current conflict in Gaza hit the front page. This book helped me conceptualize the power struggles there. In this series, Israel exists only as a dragon against whom you can prove your manhood or advance your own agenda -- The Israelis never have names or faces, the Palestinians' greatest enemies are each other, and peace would rob warlords of their power. Omar Yussef is an Everyman who speaks truth to power and wrests small victories from the midst of huge defeats. The overall concept is great. The execution is pretty good. Throughout most of the book, I was riveted. The writing was very polished. The last few chapters, however, were a little rushed -- I had trouble picturing the action of the final scenes and I really didn't understand the role of the cemetery caretaker and the final funeral. ( )