The Hilltop by Assaf Gavron

On Monday, May 2nd, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, The Hilltop by Assaf Gavron.  Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

• Unfortunately only four members got through the book. Half of our group felt the book was confusing and hard to follow. They felt that the main characters, Roni and Gabi, were unlikeable.  They could not identify with them, nor did they come to care about them. We thought this might be because we were unfamiliar with Israeli culture and many of the religious terms that were used. The book was also translated from Hebrew so that may have been part of the problem.
• The members that did read the book had a difference in opinion. One member thought that there was a lot of political satire in the story, one member thought the entire book was satirical, and one member did not find anything humorous in the story.
• One of the main themes in the story and the question that Roni Kupper asked was, “Can people change, or do they always remain the same?”  The drama in the story was whether the brothers can find forgiveness, some happiness, and whether they can change. What we discovered is no, they never really change. Roni is still the wheeler and dealer and Gabi still has issues controlling his anger. None of the men in the story is shown in a good light. Women in the story are basically a side line with little importance.
• The odd thing is that the Jewish Book Council called this a “modern masterpiece.” That even though the work is fiction, they claim it portrays a true picture of the inner lives of the settlers in the West Bank. It was odd to us that these religious men can be so brutal. We thought that at least Roni, with his get rich quick schemes did not claim he was religious.
• Another member thought the visual descriptions were priceless and that she did like Gabi. She felt that when she got lost in the book, his story brought her back to the central plot.
• The members that did finish the book felt that they learned a lot about the Arab and Israeli conflict and now have a better understanding of why a solution remains elusive. One of our members thought she might have finished the book if it was nonfiction.
• One member thought she would recommend the book, but only to certain people. No one else would recommend it.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.