Unholy Land

Starred review from September 10, 2018
World Fantasy Award winner Tidhar (Central Station) will leave readers’ heads spinning with this disorienting and gripping alternate history. Author Lior Tirosh, grieving a personal tragedy, travels home after years abroad and immediately has a series of strange encounters that pull him into a complex plot to destroy the border between worlds. He arrives in Palestina, the land that the Jews were offered on the Ugandan border in 1904, which both closely resembles and is profoundly different from the Israel of our world, and is followed by two government agents who are trying to stop the destruction of “borders,” though it’s unclear whose side they are really on. Tirosh discovers a niece he had forgotten, is accused of murder, narrowly dodges threats to his life, and takes on the role of a detective from one of his own novels as he tries to understand what is endangered and by whom. “No matter what we do, human history always attempts to repeat itself,” Tidhar writes, even as he explores the substantial differences in history that might arise from single but significant choices. Readers of all kinds, and particularly fans of detective stories and puzzles, will enjoy grappling with the numerous questions raised by this stellar work.

October 15, 2018

On the suggestion of his agent, pulp fiction writer Lior Tirosh flies back to the home he hasn't seen since childhood: Palestina, an East African Jewish state formed in the early 20th century. He soon discovers a lot has changed. In the capital, Ararat, unrest is at an all-time high. Palestina is creating a border wall to deter refugees from entering. Lior then learns from an old childhood friend that his niece Deborah is missing and takes on the persona of one of his own detective novel characters as he searches for her, only to be hunted by his own state's security. VERDICT Shifting perspectives will keep readers trying to catch up with this fast-paced plot involving incredible twists on multiple realities and homecoming. This latest from Campbell and World Fantasy Award winner Tidhar (Central Station) is fascinating and powerful.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2018
A writer of detective novels leaves Germany en route to the Jewish state of Palestina, a slice of land sandwiched between Kenya and Uganda. Through a string of circumstances, he becomes implicated in a series of murders and is pursued by a shadowy figure from the state security force. As the novel proceeds, it veers from a mystery tale into science fiction, as the world inhabited by our cast of characters appears to shift. From the outset, the setting places us firmly in alternate-history territory, but Tidhar (Central Station?, 2016) ups the ante with this conceit and through the use of a trio of protagonists rendered in first-, second-, and third-person points of view. It's a dense and demanding novel, with tantalizing hints of a subplot that never completely materializes (like a tossed-off reference to a still-ruling Idi Amin). The ambiguity of the narrative might make it a tough sell for those who prefer more conventional genre fare, but adventurous readers will appreciate this well-written and ambitious book. It should find a place at any library that offers high-quality literary fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)