Review by WordHound -- The Expelled by Mois Benarroch

[WordHound]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Expelled" by Mois Benarroch.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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The Expelled

The narrator is an author taking a break from editing, and escaping his marital troubles by taking a trip to Tel Aviv. On the return train journey, he meets a woman who seems very familiar and he already knows everything about her. How can this be?

This story is perhaps best summarized when the narrator tells about a book he will publish, this book, and gives a synopsis of the story: “A love story that bifurcates. The narrator falls in love with a young woman who looks exactly like the woman his wife used to be twenty five- years ago. While the reader wonders whether they are the same person or not, the narrator reads aloud to young Gabrielle a story about the kidnapping of a bus, is he or isn’t he the abducted?”

If you’re a stickler for grammar, this book’s rambling style with occasional run-on sentences and comma splices is likely to annoy you. On the other hand, this approach does an admirable job of emulating the constant flow and random topic shifts of a person’s thoughts. However, this isn’t enough to overcome the lack of connection to the characters that results from relatively few personal details about them and an overall lack of clarity about their lives and motivations.

The kidnapping story told within the story has some interesting, yet disturbing, themes that are all too relevant in today’s world. It illustrates how quickly a group of people will find or create arbitrary distinctions between themselves and others. And these distinctions lead to privileges for some, while leading to a loss of dignity and respect for others. Not surprisingly, this extreme situation leads to a violent death in the narrator’s story.

While the initial premise was intriguing, I spent much of the book looking for clues about what was actually going on. However, the clues were few and far between. Ambiguity about the order of events and the identities of the characters compels you to read to the end, but if you’re hoping for definite answers you will be disappointed; there is much left unsaid and unanswered.

This book was translated into English. It does contain some explicit content and language as well as mentions of kidnapping, murder and rape.

I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars because I didn’t care about the characters and it was frustrating to get through this confusing narrative and still be left with more questions than answers.

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The Expelled
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[LivreAmour217]

Very nice review! I'm sorry that the book wasn't more enjoyable, however. It doesn't seem like one that I would enjoy myself. Hopefully the author will learn from this experience.

[WordHound]

Thanks for your feedback! It is always a bit disappointing when a book that seems good at first doesn't live up to your expectations.

[Spirit Wandering]

The kidnapping story told within the story has some interesting, yet disturbing, themes that are all too relevant in today’s world. It illustrates how quickly a group of people will find or create arbitrary distinctions between themselves and others. And these distinctions lead to privileges for some, while leading to a loss of dignity and respect for others.

Yes, I think this is one of humanity's major challenges-grouping people into us and other. It is an important theme and it is unfortunate that the book wasn't better. Thanks for the review.

[WordHound]

Glad you liked the review! I think I would have enjoyed the book more if those themes had been the main focus.

[EMoffat]

I have read several of his books now, and I am always disappointed by the numerous errors in them. I find there is a theme where you are never very certain of that the story line is meant to be.. thanks for the review

[WordHound]

Good to know it's not just me who finds his books disappointing! I don't think I will bother reading any more from this author.