City of a Thousand Gates follows several characters (Israeli, Palestinian, German, American) through life in Israel and the West Bank. Well-written, memorable characters. Sweeping is not the right word. Stunning. Beautiful and ugly, painful and engaging, disappointing and hopeful — all side by side. “Musheri”, my grandma used to say, “all mushed together.” Like grit in one’s eyes or dirt in the creases of one’s palm, this book will stick with you.
I don’t feel qualified to comment on the complexities that are tackled by this novel. Bee Sacks has crafted a work of art that portrays each side with humanity and respect. It is enlightening and heartbreaking and yet I can’t stop reading. Nor do I want to. I must see this to the end.
There’s a scene where they’re peeling stickers off of imported olive wood crosses and it just destroyed me.
One of the characters, a German journalist, notes:
[…] anyone — anyone — can be on the wrong side of history.
Vera, City of a Thousand Gates by Rebecca Sacks
Once when I was 17, I found a book at the library, a novel the name of which I don’t remember. It was about Israel and Palestine. When I realized it portrayed Palestinians as humans and not as the enemy, I returned it. I knew if my fundamentalist step-dad caught me reading this book that told of the plight of Palestinians versus Israel, that I would be punished for reading a work of fiction that didn’t hold with his Christian values: to support Israel blindly, no matter what, because we were Christians. But what I did manage to read changed the way I thought; it started me on a journey. I wish I could remember the name of this book so I could finish it, that big thick book about Israel and Palestine and complex subjects that I still don’t understand. It made me realize the situation was terrible, and that any people group is capable of atrocities. What is that quote? History is written by the victors?
I have been sucked in. I have become a new person with new eyes. Why must it be us versus them? Why can’t it be you and me, different, and stronger for it? Our similarities attract us together; our differences complement each other. “Otherness” — people fear that which is unknown or “other”. How do you defend yourself against perceived “otherness”? How do you overcome fear and prejudice to realize that there is no “us” or “them”?
After reading this novel, I have no answers…only questions. But I think it’s good to read books like this that make you ask questions.
If you have read this book, or decide to read this book, or are familiar with Bee Sacks, I would love to hear your thoughts!
With compassion and despair —
— Shalanosa
Shalanosa's Sanctuary 