Customer Reviews

Collaborator of Bethlehem

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I've been waiting for years for the crime genre to enter the Arab world -- other than a handful by Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra, there's nothing out there (at least in English translation). So, it was with great anticipation I picked up Welsh journalist Rees' Bethlehem-set book starring middle-aged schoolteacher Omar Yussef. Fortunately, despite prose that gets a little too florid at times, and a rather clunky "mystery", the book largely succeeds in bringing the detective genre to a new setting. (A note of warning: those who do not want to face the reality of how the Israeli occupation of the West Bank negatively affects daily life will probably not want to read this. Similarly, those who do not want to face the reality of Palestinian factionalism, pervasive corruption, and intercinine bloodshed, will find this a trying read. All of these elements come to the fore and are critical to the plot, as Rees attempts to ground his story in the daily struggle of non-combatant Palestinians to live a normal life.)

The story begins with the betrayal of a Palestinian guerilla to an Israeli hit squad by an unseen Palestinian collaborator. At his funeral, his widow reveals a rather significant clue as to the identity of the titular collaborator to her former schoolteacher, Yussef. However, she soon turns up dead before her evidence can be reported to anyone. Meanwhile, another former student, a Christian who emigrated to Chile and recently returned, is accused of being the collaborator. Certain that his ex-student is innocent and being accused solely due to his religion, Yussef embarks on an amateur sleuthing quest to clear his name which puts him in direct conflict with the "Martyr's Brigade" militia which is the de facto power in town.

While on indefinite leave from his teaching position, the former alcoholic Yussef pokes and prods around Bethlehem and its Dehaisha refugee camp, piecing together little bits of information. The one major flaw in the plotting is that he makes a very major erroneous assumption about the clue the widow gives him, and anyone who's lived in the Arab world will spot it immediately. This wouldn't be that bad, except that Yussef spends a good portion of the book berating others for making assumptions... However, on the whole, he is an engaging character and the book does an excellent job of showing why those who wish peace and follow their conscience have a rough time of it in the Arab-Israeli conflict and how hysteria and mob rule generally carry the day. I'll definitely be reading the next in the series.

Though I'm not much for crime fiction, I'm a reader of books about the Middle East, and this mystery set in Bethlehem on the West Bank caught my eye. At first I didn't think I'd like it, but I was quickly drawn into the twists and turns of plot, a few of them shocking, and felt I'd been immersed in Arab-Israeli political tensions in a way I'd never been before. Welsh-born author Rees, a journalist with Time magazine in Jerusalem, chooses as his central character an Arab history teacher at a UN-run girls school for refugees. A man with a comb-over and a mid-life crisis - and unqualified as a detective - he attempts to uncover the identity of an informer responsible for the killing of a young resistance fighter, which has led to the false arrest of a close friend.

For me, the final solving of this mystery was not so interesting as the portrayal of daily life in a world where the rule of law has been subverted by armed insurgents and an embrace of martyrdom, all set against the presence of an occupying army with considerably superior fire power. Occasions to kill or be killed multiply in this environment, whether as the victim of revenge, dishonor, mob violence, suicide bombing, or cross-fire between combatants. Framing all this within the conventions of the detective story makes this novel something close to creative nonfiction. Meanwhile, as the sole voice of reason and decency crying in this wilderness, the detective Omar Yussef becomes someone you admire for his courage - though it may seem foolish at times. I hope Rees' book is the first of a series; I look forward to reading more.

"The Collaborator of Bethlehem" is an astounding book in many ways. Above all, it's an insightful look at what happens to a society that has lost control of its daily life--when violent force becomes stronger than reason and order. Most people in this kind of situation hunker down and try to make themselves invisible until things get better. A few see opportunities in crisis to gain at the expense of others. Only a few refuse to surrender their humanity and morals and shun collaboration with disorder. Matt Beynon Rees' protagonist, Omar Yussef, is one of the rare breed in the third category. He is the anti-collaborationist, who lives in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, where collaboration is seen by the population as a means of survival. For some it's collaboration with the Israelis to control Palestinian militants, for most others it's a collaboration of silence that allows corruption and violence to flourish in the name of Palestinian autonomy.

Omar Yussef, a free-thinking Palestinian school teacher abhors all that has happened to his very oppressed people, but refuses to give up on hope for the future, and surprisingly, refuses to blame the Israelis for all Palestinian problems. Through his protagonist, the author also expounds convincingly on how the Israelis have condemned themselves to an unending conflict with their neighbors by continuously working to destabilize Palestinian community and family life which inevitably produces more violence directed against the Israelis themselves.

On top of everything else, "The Collaborator of Bethlehem" is a genuinely good police mystery that holds the reader's attention from page one. This is a very intelligent book, clearly demonstrating Rees' understanding of the Middle East and the complexities the Palestinian/Israeli relationship. You have to wonder whether it would be possible for an Arab or an Israeli to have written such an honest and insightful book. We should all be happy that this is published as the first in a series of mysteries. Bring on number two.

In this first of what is hoped will be a long series of Omar Yusuf mysteries, Matt Beynon Rees has opened the fetid sewer of today's Bethlehem.
I am someone who has lived and worked with both Christian and Muslim residents of Bethlehem in the period prior to the complete destruction of that society. I found the novel to be a real-life portrait of the city today as well as a wonderful piece of fiction. For the first time in a long while, I was unable to leave the book until I had finished the final pages.
Not only is this a gripping detective mystery but it is a stunning portrait of a city that once was a model of Christian-Muslim cooperation and is now a victim of the lawlessness of the Palestinian Authority. He has shown us that the Christians of Bethlehem, the few moderate Muslims remaining and the Israelis are all caught a web of corruption and destruction that now traps them all.

I love Soho Crime, an imprint known for publishing mystery and suspense novels set in exotic locales foreign to most American readers. Unfortunately, they don't release titles every month, but their limited schedule does guarantee a commitment to quality.

So we come to THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM by Matt Beynon Rees, the first in a projected series of novels featuring Omar Yussef, a grade school history teacher in Bethlehem. Yussef has taught Muslim and Christian children in Bethlehem for over two decades. A Muslim himself, Yussef has remained above the violence and strife, treating his charges without differentiation even as the Christian minority has slowly disappeared. Yussef's teaching style --- which encourages his students to turn away from the concepts of violent martyrdom and the gangster-style leadership of the self-styled revolutionaries who rule the streets of his city --- has not endeared him to the Palestinian authorities, who regard him as an anachronism at best and dangerous at worst.

Yussef immerses himself into new difficulties when George Saba, a Palestinian Christian and a beloved former student, is charged with collaborating with the Israelis in the execution of a Palestinian guerrilla. The accusation against Saba results in his arrest, with a mock trial and a brutal execution soon to follow. It is almost immediately evident that Saba is a scapegoat, but the Palestinians want vengeance and Saba is a warm body.

Yussef feels compelled to investigate, even as he is warned away from the matter by everyone from the local police chief to his own son. His de facto investigation puts himself and his family in terrible danger, but he is nonetheless compelled by his own innate sense of justice and decency to pursue it, even as it slowly becomes clear to him that even the truth will ultimately make no difference in a time and place where lawlessness and insanity rules.

As the result of his work as a Western journalist in Jerusalem, Matt Beynon Rees has a canny understanding of the chaotic street politics that rule the Palestinian territories. Rees brings a wondrous storytelling ability to this book, providing order to a complex and confusing tale and rendering it not only comprehensible but also compelling. He has created in Yussef a marvelous character, a flawed and damaged man constantly striving to do good and be better in a world where such efforts are both unappreciated and regarded as dangerous.

THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM is one of those rare debuts that hints at great potential and then not only delivers but also exceeds what is promised.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Omar Yussef is a school teacher in present day Palestine. He takes on the role of detective when a former student is accused of collaboration. This stark portrait of the multi-level conflicts of this region will leave you reeling. The good guys aren't so good and the bad guys can be terrible. Yussef has to dodge all sides even as they're squeezing in on him. He discovers his friends may be enemies or they may be better friends than he could have imagined. And that's the hard part in this part of the world. Things happen so fast, the bodies pile up before the truth comes out. But Yussef never gives in, even if he's getting old, because he gets wiser with every twist. And there are plenty of twists in this plot.

The best part about this book is the depth of explanation for character motives and desires. No one is a cardboard cut out, and Yussef has more facets than a fine diamond. Rees deserves all the accolades for this book. His grasp of the subject matter is remarkable.

The Collaborator of Bethlehem, isn't a mystery in the traditional sense, but is of a genre of new books in which the mystery is secondary to the characters development and the time and place that the story evolves in. I loved it! If you enjoy this type of story, and not the more formulaic mystery, this is definetly a novel for you to pick up and invest time in reading.
Matt Benynon Rees has created a very life like central character in Omar Yussef a Muslim living in the West Bank. The story very realistically, as Rees has spent time in the Middle East,imagines Yussef's neighborhood, his family and the turmoil felt by the average person living in a war zone. It is truely moving to read about the frustrations and violence that is an everyday occurance. Within this descripton of Yussef's life the reader is introduced to a mystery. One of Yussef's former student's is accused of being a "collaborator" with the Israeli army. Omar must overcome his initial hesitancy to get involved and redeem himself by living the life he has urged his students to live. He sets out to prove his former student's innocence by clues and confrontations and deductions. We root for Omar Yussef as he is the everyman struggling to "make things right" in a world gone horribly wrong. This is a well written intriguing novel in which the answer to the mystery is less climatic than the growth that the central character, Omar Yussef, experiences. Well done!

This mystery is not just a mystery in that it gives the reader insight into a society often only encountered on news broadcasts. It also brings the reader into the streets and daily lives of the Palestinian living in Bethlehem to the point where the smells of the city almost feel like they are wafting off the pages. As the mystery unfolds, so does the understanding of the intricate, violent society many Palestinians must deal with.

In this first of the Omar Yusef mysteries, Matt Beynon Rees shows us life from the Palestinian side of things, a view not often seen. Omar Yusef, an aging history teacher, may have physical repercussions from drinking in his younger days. His mind, however, is still nimble as he pieces together the mystery he feels compelled to solve.

The characters are people we recognize in our own lives; most wanting to live quiet, peaceful lives. They want to work and raise their children as best they can under difficult circumstances. The presence of a collaborator of the Israelis, disturbs the peace with deadly consequences for many.

I very much enjoyed this author's first novel and look forward to many more.

Omar Yussef, a Bethlehem school teacher, who has a passion for teaching an honest and fair version of history to his students, becomes an amatuer detective who tries to clear the name of a favorite former student who has been unjustly charged with being an Israeli collaborator. Because of the alleged treason, the student has been charged with murder. Delving into many layers of deceipt and hidden agendas, much like peeling away the layers of an onion, he gradually uncovers the real reasons behind a series of murders and deaths. In the process, the author sheds light on many hidden aspects of Palestianian society, revealing the tensions and conflicts within that society that more than anything else keep it from becoming an orderly and law abiding society. A great first novel in what is destined to be a great new detective series.