Our June meeting of the CBI Book Club will take place over Zoom on Monday, June 3 at 7:30pm (EDT) to discuss Apeirogon by Colum McCann (Penguin Random House, 2020; translated into Hebrew in 2022).

A daring, symphonic, and challenging novel, named for a shape with a countably infinite number of sides, it features two real-life characters: one Israeli and the other Palestinian, each of whom have daughters killed by ‘other’ side, one a 10-year-old Palestinian girl shot by a young IDF soldier, the other a 14-year-old Israeli girl murdered by Hamas suicide bombers. Part fiction, part autobiography, the story of how these two men come to meet, become founders of “Combatants for Peace,” and life-long friends is conveyed by McCann in a Thousand and One Cantos, modelled so to speak on The Arabian Nights. (The two men dedicate themselves to keeping their daughters alive by endlessly telling their stories, which they are in fact currently doing worldwide).

McCann quasi-fictional format initially makes for challenging reading, mirroring for the first 60 or so pages the confusion the characters themselves experience, but the pace quickens considerably halfway through, so take notes as you read and allow yourself ample time. Given this format, an actual paper copy of the book will make for an easier read than an online copy. Live interviews with McCann and the two men are available on YouTube and very much worth viewing, and a 2020 review from The New York Times can be read here. One further note: a Hebrew translation of Apeirogon was initially banned in Israel, and Haaretz (Israel’s liberal newspaper) published an article earlier this year urging people to read it now that it’s finally out!

This book is available to purchase online in multiple formats. Those who plan on joining us should RSVP via our website. If you have any questions, please email Suzanne Levy Graver at [email protected].