Customer Reviews

The Tribe (Signet)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

WHAT THE EXORCIST WAS TO CATHOLICS, THE TRIBE IS TO JUDAISM. THIS TERRIFYING TALE OF CANABALISTIC MYSTICISM AND MAGIC WILL HOLD YOU SHIVERINGLY SPELLBOUND. What is the mysterious link between the Belzig Concentration Camp Jewish captives suddenly found alive and well fed in their powdery clay coated gray barracks, and the five teenagers who, 35 years later, after murdering a Rabbi's son are found hideously murdered in a powdery gray coated clubhouse?...This book will have you furiously turning pages to find the fascinating and frightening answer!

Not particularly scary but immediately engaging, with well-drawn characters. Very readable.

The story: Five youths are found dead in a basement, covered in clay. Eight elderly rabbis are the suspects.

The Tribe is, I suppose, ostensibly a horror novel, though it more closely resembles a thriller with some supernatural overtones. In either case, it fails to deliver any sense of suspense or terror, though it does occaisionally manage to evoke some mystery. It is, really, a novel about the constrictions of group identity and the dangers of clannishness, and the relationships of characters dealing with these issues. It is also about fighting wars that ended long ago. It is through these themes only that the book achieves any power.

The prose itself is unimpressive; the same style of short, enunciatory sentences can be found in thousands of cheap novels. I found I was also distracted by numerous spelling errors, and the descriptions of characters emotions were sometimes embarrasing.

However, the elements of Jewish lore and mysticism that pervade the story are interesting, though the outcome of the story is immediately obvious to anyone with even cursory knowledge of Jewish folktales.

I can't say I cared about any of the characters, though Luria did manage to add some menace to the tale. I was, however, impressed with the character Rachel Levy. Her struggles as a Jewish woman added some much needed flavor to the story.

I can't really recommend this book, but I can't say to avoid it, either. It's rather unimpressive, but it's not bad. It is a quick read, exceedingly short (just over three hundred pages) and it may prove of interest to some people. Just don't expect anything special. The best that I can say is that it is high-quality mediocrity.

The cover makes this story sound like a real thriller but it is kind of weak when it comes to scariness, and the plot is pretty thin. To make matters worse, the copy I picked up at a "honor system" rack in a commuter train station lacks the last 6 pages so I am bereft of the words indicating how it comes out, but based on what I read in the first 325 pages I'm not all that enthusiastic to lay hands on a complete copy to see if my guess on outcome is correct. The characterization of Rachel Levy is the strongest part, the rest of the characters are painted pretty shallow. Overall, any Steven Saylor, Clive Cussler, or Agatha Christie title beat this one by a mile.