Beaufort

December 3, 2007
In this gritty war novel, Leshem chronicles the tumultuous year leading up to Israel's 2000 withdrawal from Southern Lebanon. The story is told through the eyes of 21-year-old squadron leader, Liraz Liberti (aka Erez), who is tasked with shepherding a motley group of 13 "kids" through their military tours at the historic Israeli outpost, Beaufort. As the violence at Beaufort increases and the day of the withdrawal approaches, those stationed at the outpost try to ward off "eatenness" (fear) and a nagging sense of the futility of manning an outpost about to be closed down. Rather than dwell on the politics behind Israel's conflict with Hezbollah, Leshem focuses on the soldiers' slang-heavy language (those who are scared are "strawberry pissers"; a dumb soldier is a "hummus") and the thickening camaraderie to give readers remarkably visceral access to the isolated outpost. The anxiety and fear are palpable throughout Leshem's vivid novel-you can practically feel the shells explode.

Starred review from November 15, 2007
In order to limit Hezbollah's attacks on Israeli settlements, Israel maintained a security force in southern Lebanon for close to 20 years. Leshem's searing, award-winning first novel chronicles the lives of the last group of Israeli soldiers to man the outpost at Beaufort, a crusader-castle ruin of questionable military significance. Written as the diary of Liraz "Erez" Liberti, the hotheaded twentysomething leader of a 13-man commando unit stationed in an outpost prior to the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, the novel brings to life the situation of very young men on a dangerous mission. This is a picture of war from a soldier's point of view. Its language is crude, the body count rises, and yet the tenderness of the bonds among the men is extraordinary. As they begin to have doubts about their mission and their government begins to seem cynical about the situation in southern Lebanon, the novel also becomes an indictment of war irrevocably altering the futures of idealistic young men. Leshem brings these issues to life. An important novel, recommended for all collections. [The award-winning film adaptation of the novel was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and will debut in U.S. theaters this year; see Prepub Alert, "LJ"9/1/07.]Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2007
Erez Liberti is scarcely older than the 13 high-school-age young men he commands in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Hes become a second lieutenant, and it is his job to leadand keep alivehis young charges when they are deployed to the top of the highest peak in southern Lebanon, an ancient Crusader fortress called Beaufort. Its the most beautiful place Erez has ever seen, but it also proves the deadliest. His squads assignment is to keep terrorists from attacking northern Israel, which means manning the fortress guard posts under almost constant mortar and rocket fire by Hizbullah. The year is 1999, and the IDF has held Beaufort since 1982. Told in a stream-of-consciousness diary style, this gripping first noveldescribes life for a group of adolescents who must quickly become battle-hardened soldiers. It also describes a country increasingly weary of endless war and strained by differences between hawks and doves and deeply religious Jews and secular Jews. By turns, it is tragic, funny, mordant, irate, shocking, and poignant. Beaufort won the 2006 Sapir Award, Israels top literary prize, and has also been made into a film, but it will be new to most U.S. readers.A must-read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)