Reading Yuval Shimoni's book "The Body of an Unidentified Man" reminded me, to some extent, of watching Yigal Mosko's fine color articles in Studio Friday. As there, a window opens to a slice of life, to a figure who, even if it is from the margins of society, is patiently dismantled into its elements. And from the seemingly meticulous and realistic description, great drama sometimes arises - when in our book the windows open to several such characters.
This is a tough contemporary novel about our existential situation – personal and general – in Israel today. The plot centers on one random evening, in a rather marginal Tel Aviv pub, where each of the characters gathered around pub tables represents a certain angle in Israeli reality.
Shimoni made a conscious choice of gray figures that lacked social specific weight, but whose very existence symbolizes, each from its own angle, a significant characteristic of our lives. For example, Marwan, the pub cook and Darfuri migrant worker, carries on his shoulders the immense tragedy of his own people, who were murdered by Janjaweed gangs during the civil war there; Like many refugees, he took the torturous path from Darfur to Palestine, during which his cousin Manal – whom he introduces as his sister – was brutally raped by the Bedouins in Sinai.
Rafiq, the dishwasher from Issawiya, is the embodiment of the Israeli-Arab conflict in a nutshell, with the difficult dilemmas of his life, the humiliations of the occupation and the harsh reality that obliges him – and Marwan – to hide from inspectors of the immigration authority and the police.
Liat, the waitress, and her partner Shahar, in their 20s, are trying to survive in the harsh reality of life in Israel and take comfort, perhaps, in the even worse situation of the owners of the shawarmia near the pub.
All in all, he was a major in the aircraft, photo: Joshua Yosef
Nadav, a 40-year-old Ashkenazi accountant, feels that he missed out on his life – a miss that began when his friends went to fly and cruisers and he "totally" went to the anti-aircraft unit. He was forced to retire from the army with the rank of major, and did not receive the coveted rank of lieutenant colonel, and also spent his professional career in a small publishing house, instead of the CEO of a large company. His wife is estranged from him, and he, in what we would call common Polishness, hides his health from her so as not to show weakness.
Homeless Rami, another character, is a classic victim of abuse of the weak - and he is also the only one whose story is told in the first person and is the thread that binds all the characters. Later in the plot, he descends into the abyss in an unstoppable spiral.
Each of the Jewish characters hides skeletons in a closet and carries a burden of guilt that gives her no rest: jealousy led Liat to report on a guide who had formed relationships with her friends but not with her – and get him fired; Shahar was involved in the abuse of a Palestinian child; Rami killed a man unintentionally; During his time in the IDF, Nadav accused his driver of something for which he himself was responsible.
And maybe by looking at the past, everyone also dreams of the future. Rami expects "Borulam" (Creator) to mate him with a girlfriend; Liat has romantic dreams about traveling abroad at dawn. Nadav, who is constantly debating the interpretation of the little prince, hopes that an opportunity will come his way to prove that he is a superhero who can save the day.
Everyone lives the gray everyday as they escape a painful past and fantasize about a bright future.
Due to the detailed description of the characters, we get to know them in depth, and get to know their real, hidden thoughts. And herein lies the main strength of the book: the characters are well-constructed, very believable and realistic. We all know them – from home, from the army, from the pub. They are round, human and evoke, each in its own way, both positive and negative emotions.
The clarity of each of the characters in this multi-voice book is also impressive: Rami's pitiful mockery, for example, is consistent and precise throughout. Dawn's pent-up rage emerges from every sentence.
Another interesting detail worth noting is the unique presentation of the text: throughout the stories of the different characters there is a line at the top of each page, separated by a line. One that, in parallel to the character's inner thoughts in the situation, constitutes a kind of "background noise" of conversations that take place in the pub.Thus, the readers are actually present with the character in that present, and not only look through her eyes, but also hear through her ears the chatter at the nearby tables, which tell another, parallel story. This is an unusual "translation" of accompanying sound. A refreshing and surprising innovation.
Shimoni also makes unsympathetic statements about relationships, such as Nadav and Noa's crumbling relationship: "This distancing in bed was the most painful, setting boundaries; Even their bodies declared what they declared." And a strong statement, very relevant today, about those who stand by and do not intervene when they see an injustice happening before their eyes. The negative contribution of those who abstained from the event is rightly emphasized.
In general, today's Israel, as the characters' stories indicate, is not a good place to live. It is a harsh, racist, cruel place that hates the other. It is not welcoming – neither to its immigrants nor to its citizens.
And here is also a point of criticism: it can be said that the descriptions of the meeting points between Israelis and Palestinians, that is, the injustices of the occupation, are one-sided, thus undermining the overall credibility of the book somewhat.
For example, the story of Dawn, the one that haunts him all his life and for which he seeks atonement, is horrifying and heartbreaking. Especially because it is described in euphemism, which ostensibly underestimates the horror of the acts: the senseless and inexplicable cruelty with which IDF soldiers, including a Palestinian family, destroy the contents of their home, steal their washing machine, and worst of all, take their 14-year-old son, handcuff and drag him behind their car, and eventually crush him with the stolen washing machine.
This is a description that could easily fit into any Holocaust book. We remember that a book isn't a newspaper article or a docu, it's not committed to objectivity and realism to the end, and that's okay. Where else would we put these thoughts if not in a fictional book, and it is clear that Shimoni wanted to make a point. But we live in this reality every day and know it firsthand, and therefore have a particularly sensitive ear for nuance.
Another point is the back of the book, which implies its classification as a kind of thriller, and even emphasizes the absence of a police or private detective, so "the task of identification lies with you, the reader." This classification is sinful to the truth. Even if Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" is mentioned here and there - it still does not make the book a thriller, nor is it necessary. This is an important and accurate novel, which will stay with readers for a long time.
But, this is an Istanian criticism. As a whole, the book is faithful to contemporary Israeli reality and presents a picture that, even if it is sometimes difficult to digest, is credible and convincing. The characters, as mentioned, are superbly built and very rich in details. Given that this is a non-thin book - almost 500 pages - it offers fluent reading, which leaves you wanting more.
Body of an unidentified man, Yuval Shimoni, with an employee, 496 pages
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us