The Deserter

Peter Bourne

18 October 2011
9780230756915
400 pages

Synopsis

The Deserter by Peter Bourne explores the complexities of family and political tensions within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Taking a trip up through the West Bank, Lev comes face to face with the dark, potentially dangerous atmosphere of fear and suspicion that prevails there. After witnessing the daily currency of careless humiliation and intimidation and after becoming involved in a number of incidents, he is eventually so moved that he voluntarily provokes a confrontation, which has devastating and lasting consequences for him.

From Lev's difficult entry into Israel, his meetings with members of his family – each with a different perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict – through his renewed appraisal of the Jerusalem he once knew, this is a powerful, sensitively-told narrative.