by Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon
First sentence: “Once, there were two brothers who lived on opposite sides of a hill.”
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Content: There is some mild swearing, descriptions of murder and torture, and talk of the genocide of Palestinians. It’s in the History section of the bookstore.

I picked this up becuase I was intrigued by the premise: Aziz, a Palestinian whose brother was kidnapped by the IDF and tortured, eventually dying of his wounds; and Maoz, an Israeli whose parents were murdred by Hamas on October 7th, traveled around Israel and the West Bank (as much as they could) together. They heard each other’s stories, they held each other’s grief, and they wrote a book, demonstrating that it’s the connection with the Other that helps build peace.

I can’t argue with their conclusion, because I agree: learning the stories, hearing the trials, and respecting those who are not like you is fundamental for building peace and connection in this world. And I appreciated that Aziz and Maoz respected each other to work for that connection. In fact, I respect that this book is trying to show the world that there is a way forward without war, if one will only Listen.

I just wish I liked the book better. I wish their stories, their journey together moved me. It obviously moved them. But, for whatever reason, that really didn’t come through on the page. Which is too bad, becuase I think what they’re trying to do is important.