Moving Kings

May 1, 2017
Two Israeli soldiers immigrate to New York City to work as eviction movers in this striking, erratic novel from the author of Book of Numbers. The novel’s early sections follow the middle-aged Jewish owner of King’s Moving, David King, an estranged father who invites his 22-year-old cousin, Yoav, to work for him after Yoav’s discharge from the IDF. Following a poignant flashback to David’s lone trip to Israel, the novel focuses on Yoav, first on his fraught military experience, then on the unsmooth transition to American civilian life. The novel then alternates between Yoav’s assimilation and the arduous lack thereof for Uri, another solider from his unit, who eventually comes stateside to work for King’s Moving, leading to a haphazard climax involving a sledgehammer, a gun, and some reactivated military training. The prose achieves a wild brilliance but cannot sustain it, focusing too little on what feels like the beating heart of the story. There are, however, admirable risks to be found on most every page, resulting in an ambitious and thought-provoking read.

This audiobook begins as though it will be a comedy but gets darker as it goes along. Narrator Jonathan Davis tracks that progression through a multiplicity of New York voices and accents--Israeli, Arabic, Manhattan, outer boroughs, Hispanic, and more. He manages to convey some especially thick accents, for people who speak little English, with complete clarity. There are passages in which the prose is of considerable emotional intensity, and Davis captures every bit of it. All the characters, even the most disreputable, come to life in their struggles to learn how and who to be in the world. Just don't expect them to have happy endings. D.H Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine