Review of Operation Olive Tree
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Tez Alvey
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Review of Operation Olive Tree
[Following is a volunteer review of "Operation Olive Tree" by Jemil Metti.]
Operation Olive Tree, by Jemil Metti, is a novel exploring the truly complicated dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian politics and interpersonal relationships within a framework of a high school for both Israeli and Palestinian students. Two students, an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy, are chosen to study opera singing in an effort to cultivate unity. What follows is an exploration of international politics, familial strife, and what it takes to create peace, both within a community and within ourselves.
The book flowed naturally, with each chapter ending on a perfect cliffhanger to keep the reader invested in what came next, with the stakes rising higher as the climax approached. The characters were also deeply fascinating to a one. I cannot think of a single character with significant page time who was lacking development; instead, they were all multifaceted and intriguing.
A perfect example of this is the mentor Susan Roth, who is first introduced to the book as a music teacher at the school to instruct Jamal (the Palestinian boy) and Irith (the Israeli girl) in opera singing. Despite that potentially bland beginning, she is by all measures one of the most engaging and enigmatic characters in this book. Metti does an excellent job of crafting a character in Roth who is both believable and impressive, compassionate and conniving, tender and violent. (Speaking of violence, the middle third or so of this book is a bit more violent than the rest, but for a novel dealing with such violent topics, it is handled very tastefully).
The only real flaw I saw with this novel was some struggle with pacing. Some parts, such as the time spent in Iraq, felt rather neglected, while others, such as issues with Irith's home life, felt overstated and almost melodramatic by the end. However, these issues are minor in comparison to the rest of the beauty of the novel, especially the superb characterization. I also would like to make a note that the manuscript was masterfully edited and I was never pulled out of the immersion by a pesky typo.
Given all of the details above, I rate this book four out of four stars. The aforementioned issues with pacing just weren't enough to warrant the loss of a star from this awesome book.
I would recommend this book to those of high school age or older who enjoy coming of age stories, who want to enjoy a novel about espionage without it being the whole focus, or who find their faith in unity and humanity dwindling. My only caveat is that if inter-family violence bothers you, this may not be the book for you.
******
Operation Olive Tree
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Operation Olive Tree, by Jemil Metti, is a novel exploring the truly complicated dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian politics and interpersonal relationships within a framework of a high school for both Israeli and Palestinian students. Two students, an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy, are chosen to study opera singing in an effort to cultivate unity. What follows is an exploration of international politics, familial strife, and what it takes to create peace, both within a community and within ourselves.
The book flowed naturally, with each chapter ending on a perfect cliffhanger to keep the reader invested in what came next, with the stakes rising higher as the climax approached. The characters were also deeply fascinating to a one. I cannot think of a single character with significant page time who was lacking development; instead, they were all multifaceted and intriguing.
A perfect example of this is the mentor Susan Roth, who is first introduced to the book as a music teacher at the school to instruct Jamal (the Palestinian boy) and Irith (the Israeli girl) in opera singing. Despite that potentially bland beginning, she is by all measures one of the most engaging and enigmatic characters in this book. Metti does an excellent job of crafting a character in Roth who is both believable and impressive, compassionate and conniving, tender and violent. (Speaking of violence, the middle third or so of this book is a bit more violent than the rest, but for a novel dealing with such violent topics, it is handled very tastefully).
The only real flaw I saw with this novel was some struggle with pacing. Some parts, such as the time spent in Iraq, felt rather neglected, while others, such as issues with Irith's home life, felt overstated and almost melodramatic by the end. However, these issues are minor in comparison to the rest of the beauty of the novel, especially the superb characterization. I also would like to make a note that the manuscript was masterfully edited and I was never pulled out of the immersion by a pesky typo.
Given all of the details above, I rate this book four out of four stars. The aforementioned issues with pacing just weren't enough to warrant the loss of a star from this awesome book.
I would recommend this book to those of high school age or older who enjoy coming of age stories, who want to enjoy a novel about espionage without it being the whole focus, or who find their faith in unity and humanity dwindling. My only caveat is that if inter-family violence bothers you, this may not be the book for you.
******
Operation Olive Tree
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
