BROKEN ILLUSIONS
Set in the 1980s Jewish Days, Arab Nights is the story of Fiona, a young English woman who leaves the UK to work on an Israeli kibbutz. In her imagination Israel is a land of orange groves, donkeys and biblical relics but the country is in fact on the brink of a bloody civil war (Intifada) in which loyalties are tested and perceptions shattered.
As the tension rises Fiona befriends Rashid, an idealistic Palestinian journalist, and falls passionately in love with Israeli soldier Rami. Can she be impartial in the Palestinian/Jewish conflict and which direction will her heart lead her when a frightening turn of events forces her into a life changing decision?
Lena Walton’s debut novel is thematically ambitious with descriptive, visceral writing that captures the energy on the streets and the earthiness of kibbutz living. The presence of danger is never far away and although Fiona is aware of this she ignores the warning signs, yet it is her willingness to break the rules that indirectly leads her to Rami.
Their relationship, which is loving, intense and sexually passionate, is riven with its own uncertainties. Rami struggles with the Jewish/Gentile culture clash and his mother’s detestation of Fiona, which is so obvious that she embarrassingly tries to matchmake him with another woman! There is an underlying implication in the narrative that Rami’s struggles are a mirror of the much bigger drama plaguing the country.
Jewish Days, Arab Nights is a love story that engages the reader through its characters, the vastness of its scope, and the political themes cutting through the narrative. On the downside it is slightly overwritten in one or two places, although that’s easily remedied with some good editing! It’s a minor criticism which doesn’t change the fact that Walton has done a more than reasonable job with this promising first novel.
Reviewed by Juliette Foster
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