Tunnels

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Two sets of siblings, two ethnicities
 Tunnels, by Ruth Modan, trans. by Ishai Mishory

I was intrigued by the descriptions of this graphic novel, and I was not disappointed; it's a complex and fascinating read set on the fraught borders between Israel and Palestine.

Nili is an unemployed archaeologist, single mom, resident of Jerusalem.  As a child, she helped her dad in his pursuit of his dream; he was convinced that he knew where the Ark of the Covenant was hidden, but the dig was canceled.  The spot is right under an Arab village, that village is behind a huge wall, and no Jewish archaeologists can get anywhere near it.  Now, with Nili's dad lost in dementia, and her brother working for a rival academic, she is determined to find a way to continue the project.

Nili winds up with a strangely assorted crew of workers -- Jews, Palestinians, her brother, her son (whose name, inexplicably, is Doctor -- he's 6 or 7 and worryingly addicted to phone games).  As they dig into the hillside, they find more tunnels than they expected.  Outside life, meanwhile, contains more connections and dangers than they expected....and how could anyone possibly expect to find the Ark of the Covenant??  Prejudice, resentment, and military presence put everyone on a hair trigger, until the final crisis leads to an unexpected dénouement.

It's quite a gripping story; I kept meaning to put it down and then finding myself 20 pages on.  The plot twists and turns as often as the tunnels do.  


In other news, I wound up in an unexpected massive reading slump for a few weeks.  I was doing all sorts of other things, but I just couldn't seem to read anything remotely serious.  Instead I read like five Three Investigators books and three Trixie Beldens.  As a kid, I did not like Trixie Belden (I mean, obviously I read all the ones I saw, I just also felt pleasantly superior to somebody who said 'gleeps'), so I don't know why I wanted to read her now!  So now I'm only 100 or so pages into my Spin read, because I practically took April off reading anything written over a 4th grade level.

Comments

  1. Jenny @ Reading the EndApril 29, 2022 at 4:03 AM

    I'm so excited to read this book! Rutu Modan is an author fave of mine ever since I read her book Exit Wounds. (The Property is also really excellent.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JeanMay 1, 2022 at 8:27 AM

      This is the first time I've read anything by her! I'll have to give Exit Wounds a try.

      Delete
  2. Laurie @ RelevantObscurity.comApril 29, 2022 at 12:22 PM

    I haven't even started my spin book. Oops....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JeanMay 1, 2022 at 8:28 AM

      Ahahaha, we've all got the spring reading rebellion going on...

      Delete

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