Customer Reviews

Vicious Circle

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This book is drawn from past, present, and the future of unrest in our world. So much so, it dominates our lives.
Near a time when a Middle Eastern peace treaty is set to be signed, a famous Rabbi and his secretary have been kidnapped in Israel by a prominent Muslim in hopes for the release of Arab prisoners being held by the Israelis. In this captivity, the two, the rabbi and the doctor speak in terms of the Torah and the Qur'an and we see the writings are almost identical - ok the words are different, but the philosophies are basically the same. If these people were to see without the constraints of their prejudices, maybe they could find common ground (literally and figuratively) to live together. It is very symbolic that the captor and captive are almost blind. They cannot see the truth.
Littell has written a gem of a book to let us see that problems that tear countries apart could come to some common ground if they were willing to listen to the other's words. The dialogue between the rabbi and the doctor makes the situation in the Middle East crystal clear. And frustrating because we know this is a vicious circle that has been happening for millenia.
Circle is the kind of book that will make you stop and think. You are drawn to it to keep reading for hours.
You will find this book fascinating. Regardless of your philosophy, you feel frustrated with the viciousness of the situation. Like it's like your great-grandmother stepped on my great-grandmother's new shoes and we will keep this bad will towards each other and our families - even after they are gone, the bad blood lingers. And we see that so much of our problems in the world are truly a vicious circle.

You can't be an enemy by yourself. Robert Littell's new book illustrates the reciprocal nature of violence and revenge, taking readers to Jerusalem, ground zero for payback since the state of Israel was created. Taking place in the fictional not-too-distant future, Israel and Palestine are on the brink of signing a historic peace accord that will bring an end to decades of violence.

Unfortunately, there are fundamentalists on both sides who view any compromise as defiance of God's will. One such man is Dr. al-Saath, a Palestinian terrorist hardened in Israeli jails. He kidnaps Rabbi Isaac Apfulbaum, well-known speaker for the Jewish cause in the Middle East and not necessarily above violent means himself. The plan is to exchange him for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, but both sides are keenly aware that an exchange is unlikely and the Rabbi's death certainly will quash the peace process and lead to further violence. Dr. al-Saath holds the Rabbi prisoner and tortures him, hoping that he will confess to the secret identity of Ya'ir, leader of an underground Jewish movement dedicated to the destruction of the Palestinian state.

The Rabbi and the doctor are very similar --- so similar that the reader will have to put a little extra effort into keeping track of them. They are both nearly blind, for instance, clearly symbolic of fundamentalism's failure to acknowledge its devastating effects. They are also both considered to be messiah figures among their own people, and each man realizes that they would not have been so revered if they did not have a well-matched opponent to prove himself against. Will either of them be able to break the circle that has bound them together, years of culture and history ensuring their enmity?

One of the highlights of VICIOUS CIRCLE is that it shares this history with the reader; it's extremely informative without ever preaching or taking sides. Drawing on the Torah as often as the Qur'an, the histories of the two men, who could have been inseparable friends in other times, illustrate the history of the region, one tragedy always leading to another.

--- Reviewed by Colleen Quinn [...]

In keeping with current events I'd have to say that my Littell stock has just plummeted. After reading Sisters, The Amateur, and a couple of others I thought highly of this author. But this book is not just talky -- it's predictable and repetitive talky -- and just drags. One of those books where (horrors) you actually look at the handful of pages in your right hand and contemplate just jumping ahead.
Don't bother waiting for the interesting plot twists... they're pretty minor and you spotted them at a distance.
Character development seems to be what he was aiming for but it's just a mass of cliches.

Move on, dear reader, there are far better ways to spend your reading time.

Robert Littell has survived the passing of the Cold War era far better than others who flourished in that hall of mirrors, like John LeCarre. In `Vicious Circle', Littell explores Arab-Israeli relations that often seem like the embrace of mutual death.

On the eve of an historic peace treaty forced upon Israel and Palestinians by an American President, an Islamic fundamentalist terrorist kidnaps a Jewish rabbi and extremist. Littell's tale focuses alternately on the Israeli efforts to rescue the rabbi and the rabbi's relationship with his captor that seemingly develops as they engage in long theological debates that become discussions.

Littell uses an oral history project recording the insights of an American presidential advisor as a mechanism to introduce some distance and objectivity. The advisor finds that keeping one's distance is not entirely possible.

An excellent read, a thriller with brains.

Interesting story but it seemed about 95% dialog. Minimal action. It was my first read of a Littlle book so it may be his style.

To say that events "overcame" this novel when it was published is not to say much. In the moment it came out, perhaps it seemed "dated" in view of the shifting fortunes of Israeli/Palestinian politics. A few years later, it seems a lot less dated. And a few years from now, it may well seem prophetic. Which is all by way of saying, history in Israel/Palestine unfolds cyclically (if ever history were doomed to repeat itself...). The old has a way of cropping up again and again in that region of the world. VC, I think, gets it just right: RL does a masterful job of depicting one slice of the Israeli/Palestinian experience, at its most (religiously) fanatic. The result is a surprisingly nuanced book, very well written, with terrific dialogue, well developed characters, and an all too convincing storyline. That RL managed to tell this story without choosing sides is very much to his credit. VC is a very entertaining read. It is also very thought provoking.

The premise of Robert Littell's latest, Vicious Circle, is interesting and had the potential to be excellent. However, instead of developing his characters and creating a plot that builds to an exciting conclusion, Littell allowed the book to focus ad nauseum on the back and forth dialogue between the well-known fundamentalist Rabbi and a legendary Palistinian terrorist, who has taken the Rabbi hostage. Ultimately, any hope Vicious Circle fulfilling its promise of being a suspenseful thriller dies a slows death. I finished Vicious Circle because of a sense of loyalty to Littell due to the satisfaction I derived from many of his earlier books. My loyalty to Littell has now ended and probably so has my interest in reading future books by this author based on the strength of his name alone.

Writing about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is fraught with difficulty. There is a deep history of violence and revenge and counter-violence and counter-revenge and deeply and personally felt injury and injustice. The people caught up in the conflict on both sides are at war both with each other and with themselves. They hate their enemies but they also hate the changes that the conflict has wrought in their own psyches. Some of the younger or less sophisticated warriors kill their enemies with some enthusiasm, but the older and more thoughtful ones kill with sadness and regret.

Littel's story takes place in some near future in which a new American President has essentially imposed a peace settlement on the middle east. No one likes it but neither side is fully able to resist the pressure and the threats of withdrawal of aid from the United States. Still, emotions are high and any new violence threatens to disrupt the fragile agreement and start another vicious circle of attack and retaliation.

In this environment, two very similar religious zealots, one Muslim, one Jewish, each hope to disrupt the peace settlement. A devout, middle-aged, fundamentalist Muslim doctor with a deep personal grievance against Israel kidnaps a devout, middle-aged, fundamentalist Jewish rabbi who leads an anti-Arab settler movement. Israeli security services begin a very sophisticated hunt for the terrorist and the rabbi, while an apparently neutral American journalist tries to get the story, and an American diplomat tries to keep everyone calm and committed to the peace accord.

Part of the story is about the hunt. In my opinion, that part of the story is quite well done. Readers of police and spy thrillers should not be at all disappointed with either the action or the technical detail. But a deeper part of the story is about the politics, the religion, the psychology, and the personal tragedy of the conflict.

Littel has no illusions about good guys and bad guys. No one has clean hands. Israeli and Palestinian/Fatah security agents collaborate in the torture of a suspect. An innocent young Palestinian woman is arrested, brutalized, humiliated and betrayed while the police lie to her father, telling him that they haven't seen the girl. Innocent young Jews are killed by the terrorists. Anyone who claims that his people only do what has to be done because of the evil nature of the enemy is failing to see the true enormity of the vicious circle of violence and revenge, or the depths of inhumanity that the conflict inevitably engenders.

At the center of all this is the story of the doctor and the rabbi. Each is a true zealot. Each considers his own life to be of no account. Each believes he is an instrument of God's will. Surprisingly and rather crazily, and yet quite convincingly, each comes to understand the other and to believe that he has found a true brother in his nemesis. Each is united with the other in his determination to ensure that the peace is prevented and the war goes on.

In my view, this is a quite remarkable book that rises well above the typical thriller to give us valuable insights into one of the most important conflicts of the past and coming century. Strong partisans of one side or the other will probably hate it. I recommend it.

Another superb offering from Littell. Evocative, educational and fast paced in the form of an adventure story set in the chaos of the Middle East. All too believable double crosses amidst an attempt to scuttle a peace treaty brokered by an unnamed female American president.

I will read anything - and have - that Robert Littell writes. His research is thorough and his prose is magic. He understands people and power.