Colum McCann

A Novel

Apeirogon

One of the best i have ever read. An absolute must if you want to understand the israeli-palestinian question

Chiara Todesca

faye

my biggest concern going into this was whether or not my guy would oversimplify the palestine/israel conflict in the name of an overarching message for unity & peace. all things considered though, he does a cool nice job of telling this story! mccann writes 1001 vignettes (a nice nod to 'a thousand and one nights,' which the book references several times) to intertwine bassam and aramin's lives, which works okay? it's a style i would normally enjoy, except mccann feels strongest in the longer excerpts, which made me wish he'd focus more on those instead. although i (think i) get what he was trying to do, the vignettes sometimes felt too scattered and distracting rather than enhancing the overall storyline. it's a book u want to read with the internet handy, because mccann drops a lot of coolio facts at u that'll drive u into a couple hundred google rabbit holes. anyway! all that aside, the book is gorgeous + mccann writes grief really stunningly. i saw someone describe Apeirogon as cerebral, and i think that's the best way to describe it. some other reviews complained that the prose was too flowery, but i disagree (although i do love excessive pretty prose) -- i think his writing style is a really brilliant contrast to the rough reality of the content that succeeds in emphasizing violence. mccann is sharp and honest and his prose serenades the reader through and through.

Apeirogon A Novel

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