Kashua's second novel (after Dancing Arabs) illuminates the lives of Israel's Arab minority. An unnamed Israeli Arab journalist returns from Tel Aviv to his home village with his wife and infant daughter, in search of cheaper living. There, residents flip anxiously between Hebrew news and al-Jazeera to make sense of daily life, and high school students wear both the latest Western clothes and veils in increasing numbers. The journalist's cosmopolitan wife hates their parochial hometown, and when the protagonist finds himself eased out of his position at a prominent Jewish newspaper (surmising that "the privilege of criticizing government policy was an exclusively Jewish prerogative"), he has to hide his unemployment from her. Then one morning, the journalist finds that the Israelis have cordoned the town, cutting off all communication with the outside world. The town is plagued by infighting, mutual suspicion and rekindled feuds, revealing fault lines in the Arab community. Kashua is a journalist for the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, and he writes about the Israeli Arabs' balancing act with knowledge and passion. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

The protagonist of Kashua's second novel (after Dancing Arabs) is a young Arab-Israeli journalist who moves back to his native village from Tel Aviv to escape increasing marginalization but finds life in the village to be provincial and suffocating. When the Israeli army surrounds the village, closing it off, villagers are unable to go to their jobs or schools, and no goods or services can get in. As the garbage piles up and drinking water becomes scarce, no explanation for the action is forthcoming. This extreme situation is unremarkable to most of the villagers, but the journalist flies into a panic and correctly prepares for the worst. In the end, the reasons behind the military blockade shock even the most complacent villager. Kashua explores what it means to be an outsider-as an Arab in Israel, as an Israeli Arab among Palestinian Arabs, and, as we learn through the journalist's memories of childhood, as an outsider among peers. Kashua also depicts a community's ability to adapt to uncertain circumstances, responding to crises both nobly and shamefully. Shlesinger's smooth translation presents Kashua's skilled and humane story in vibrant, compelling prose. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.-Rebecca Stuhr, Grinnell Coll. Libs., IA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Adult/High School-A young Arab-Israeli journalist moves from Tel Aviv back to his childhood village with his wife and baby daughter just in time to be caught up in a series of harrowing, dramatic events. In response to Israel's military presence in the village, neighbors and relatives find themselves fighting one another in order to survive. The first-person narrative gives this novel the sort of immediacy often found in YA fiction; although the narrator is nearly 30, the short chapters and fast pace, combined with the memories of youth that his return home elicits, make for an easy fit for older teens with an interest in other cultures or current events. Some words or concepts are not explicitly defined, but are made clear in context. A real strength here is the unusual perspective; the novel relates the experience of those caught in the middle, the Arab-Israelis who are citizens but are separated from many of their countrymen by faith and heritage. The unspoken answer to the unnamed protagonist's query about his own village: "Who are they anyhow?" is hinted at in the unsettling conclusion. A natural choice for teens who have discovered Albert Camus' The Stranger.-Jenny Gasset, Orange County Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information