Almost Dead: A Novel [Paperback]

Assaf Gavron (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 13, 2010

"[An] original and powerful writer…. His clear and honest writing blasts right through the clichés and the politically correct surface to touch the chaotic and ambiguous core of the Israeli identity.” —Etgar Keret

“In a dazzling display of empathy, Gavron creates two equally compelling narrators, the bomber and his victim. This is a virtuoso work; a pitch-perfect rendering of real Israeli life in all its chaos, energy, humor and terror. I couldn’t put it down.” — Geraldine Brooks

Politically incorrect, provocative, and steeped in wit and irony, Almost Dead is a fast-paced tragicomic novel about the perfectly ordinary madness in today’s Middle East.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Israeli author Gavron offers an unusual perspective on Palestinian suicide bombings in this offbeat, often satirical political thriller. While riding a bus one morning, Eitan Croc Einoch, who works for a Tel Aviv consulting company that helps clients save money by teaching them ways to shave seconds off customer-service calls, tries to reassure fellow passengers that a suspicious-looking man isn't a terrorist. Soon after Croc gets off the bus, the man explodes a bomb. When Croc survives two more terror attacks, he becomes a celebrity, a nationalist symbol of defiant survival. While Croc looks into why one of the victims was on the bombed bus, a Palestinian bomber hospitalized in Jerusalem, Fahmi Sabich, plots his revenge. Without resorting to moral relativism, Gavron (Hydromania) sheds light on the region's intractable conflict by allowing readers to relate to Fahmi as well as Croc. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Eitan Einoch, nicknamed “Croc,” is an ordinary Israeli thirtysomething. He works as a time management expert, lives with his girlfriend, and goes about his life. Then, he narrowly escapes dying in three separate terrorist attacks. Suddenly, Croc is a national celebrity and he finds himself re-examining his relationships and his life. Meanwhile, a young Palestinian suicide bomber lies in a coma, alternately aware of his surroundings and lost in the past that led him to become an unwilling terrorist. What is the connection between this man and Croc? Are more attacks to come? The dual story line creates two equally sympathetic and interesting characters, while adding a sense of suspense. --Marta Segal Block

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (April 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061984043
• ISBN-13: 978-0061984044
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #728,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wickedly funny, wickedly perverse, a tour de force May 9, 2010

By shanarufus

Format:Paperback

This was a 2-sitting read. Just could not put it down. There are two primary actors in this Israeli-Palestinian comedy/drama/war story. Croc is Israeli and survives three suicide bombings. Fahmi is a Palestinian bomber who survives his own attempted martyrdom, most of the book in a coma. The chapters alternate: Croc and his life, his loves, his job, his remembrances of his military duty. He becomes a national hero. Fahmi in his coma-state, inside his head, relives his life, the intifada, what it's like to be occupied, the humiliations, the suffering. The history of his family going back to 1948, and what life was like before 1948. The Israelis hate the Palestinians, the Palestinians hate the Israelis. In Gavron's story, nothing is sacred and all participants are torn to shreds.

I'm going to quote Geraldine Brooks from the front cover: Assaf Gavron has done the impossible: written a darkly funny novel about suicide bombing. In a dazzling display of empathy, Gavron creates two equally compelling narrators......This is a virtuoso work: a pitch-perfect rendering of real Israeli life in all its chaos, energy, humor and terror. ..." And there's a good blurb on the back by Etgar Keret who is no slouch when it comes to darkly humorous fiction.

I won't spoil the end. I wanted to speed-read the last 50 pages because I could hardly wait to know what happened! Wow, this was really a thrilling literary experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars quirky, oddly humorous, gripping all the way to the end June 8, 2010

By lisa shea

Format:Paperback

what started out a little slow for me developed into a highly entertaining read and i'm so glad that i took a chance and picked this book up. Almost Dead has two running stories told in alternating chapters, each with its own main character.

the first storyline is of Eitan, nicknamed "Croc", a Tel Aviv businessman who manages to narrowly miss three consecutive suicide bombing attempts, becoming a bit of a media celebrity, dubbed the "Croc Attack". the Croc is immediately likable, the type of person i'd like to know, but is just dealt all the wrong cards. through a few very serendipitous encounters, he finds himself hunting the true identity of one of the men killed in the first attack, all the while dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and an all too realistic failing relationship.

the second storyline follows Fahmi, a member of a terrorist shell that has coordinated the specific attacks that Croc was coincindentally involved. throughout his chapters, he is in a coma, recalling the events leading up to his hospitalization. though Fahmi is a terrorist, he is written with compassion and has an honesty that you can't help but admire. his brother is the extremist leader of their unit and Fahmi is merely feeling the familial obligation of living up to his brother's expectations and his grandfather's legacy. however, when Fahmi's brother is captured, the task of killing the Croc Attack, who has humiliated their efforts, is in Fahmi's hands alone.

the writing was sharp and humorous, and the story pulled along at a steady pace throughout. though i found the story of Eitan much more engaging than that of Fahmi to begin with, they actually developed well together and i found that by the end, i wasn't feeling that favoritism any longer. and the ending was just wow! i think i read the last 50 pages in a blink.

the characters were well realized and were both relatable, in their own ways - Croc, with his optimism and huge heart, and Fahmi, with his misguided energy and love for his family. i was actually surprised to find that i had any emotion at all for Fahmi, but i really did, despite his position and his acts. altogether, this book just took me by surprise, in a good way.

Almost Dead was an excellent perspective piece with a fantastic ending, and i would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in a slightly different take on terrorists and their victims.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Also Published as Croc Attack! Get Whichever is Cheaper! August 10, 2010

By James N Simpson

Format:Paperback

This book was originally published in Hebrew back in 2006 and was translated in 2010 by the author into English under the title Croc Attack! in Australia and some other markets. An interesting read under either cover.

It isn't really a comedy novel as implied on the cover and promotional blurb, however it is still a light read, even though it does deal with dark topics such as the terror of living under occupation, the fear of constant terrorist attacks, and the aftermath of violent incidents involving both. The great thing about this book is that it pretty much remains neutral, with a Jewish main character, and a Palestinian one, both dealing with attacks from the other side. Will either embrace the hatred members of their respective communities are telling them they should as atrocities happen more and more around them? You'll have to read to find out.

One thing that sort of gives away some surprises in the plot was that both characters are telling their story as a flashback, so hence you know they are still around to tell it. During events that you wouldn't otherwise know if they'll survive or not, might have been a bit more tension to read, if it had been written in an as it happens style.

The main Jewish character Eitan Enoch is nicknamed Croc, as Tanin a shortened version of his name, is a Hebrew word that translates to crocodile. Croc, a Tel Aviv resident, catches a mini bus to work as he theorises terrorists would obviously bomb the bigger target of a full size bus. A racist old lady on board sees a dark skinned man get on the bus and immediately assumes he's a terrorist, getting off in panic down the road. Eitan and the man beside him hadn't considered the man to be anything but another passenger until the woman had said anything. The man asks Eitan to pass on a message to his girlfriend if he doesn't make it and Eitan refuses to even hear it, getting off at the stop outside of his workplace. The mini bus explodes as he is going up the lift. So begins the start of a series of remarkable near misses with terrorist attacks as Eitan tries to honour the man on the bus' by tracking down the girlfriend who lives in Jerusalem, and just telling the story of the man's final journey on Little no. 5. A terrorist in a coma, also tells himself, and us the reader, the story of how he got to be there.