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Fields Of Exile (2014)

by Nora Gold(Favorite Author)

4.21 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1459721470 (ISBN13: 9781459721470)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Dundurn Group

review 1: I wanted to like this book. I am sympathetic to its premise. I support a two-state solution and the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and govern themselves. Like Judith, the protagonist of the novel, I can be both supportive of Israel's right to exist and critical of its government's actions at the same time. And I am surrounded by people who use terms such as "Israeli apartheid" and expect those around them to nod in agreement. Like Judith, I do not always feel free to express my nuanced view of the situation.Sadly, there is too much wrong with this book for me to embrace it except on principle. In Judith, the author has created a cardboard cutout of a left-wing Canadian-Israeli peace activist forced to pursue an M.S.W. while in "exile" in Ontario. ... moreEven though she is in her early 30s, she is hopelessly naive and often behaves like someone a good 10 years younger. We are told how intelligent she is, but we rarely see it expressed. She's also rather dull and boring, and yet her every mundane thought forms the narrative of the book. I couldn't help mentally rewriting and editing what I was slogging through.This book has important things to say about the the Left and its intellectual rigidity and about how at least some anti-Zionism is actually anti-Semitism. Sometimes, it manages to convey this message well. But far too often, the poor writing and characterization get in the way. If you're already sympathetic to the author's premise, you'll be glad that premise has been given voice, but you'll wish the voice had been better.
review 2: In Fields of Exile, author Nora Gold takes on the BDS movement with courage and authority, providing the reader a compelling, realistic portrait of anti-Semitism's most recent incarnation as seen through the eyes of Judith, a peace activist in Israel and graduate student of social work in Canada. Judith's professors and fellow students find her bona fides as a liberal impeccable, but her status as an Israeli quickly becomes problematic as she struggles to defend her beloved country against the hate-fueled anti-Israel activism of her professors, mentors, and fellow-students. Underlying that conflict is a tender love story that questions notions of devotion to lovers, friends, home, and religion. Erudite, instructive, and convincing, Fields of Exile is an excellent choice for book clubs. It deserves a wide and thoughtful audience. less

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