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| The Collaborator of Bethlehem: An Omar Yussef Mystery (Omar Yussef Mysteries) | 
| Author: Matt Beynon Rees
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $13.94 (100%)
New (40) from $2.58
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 12621
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0618959653
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780618959655
ASIN: 0618959653
Publication Date: January 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ships out next day, click expedited for faster shipping
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 28 | | NEXT » |
 Shocking yet good... August 7, 2008
Like the reviewer who gave only one star, I found the book too grim. How can a mystery be solved where there is no possibility of justice?
On the other hand, Omar Yussef shows dignity in the face of human failure, including his own. This is both upsetting and uplifting. The world is not St. Mary Mead, and those who expect the world to be as tidy as in a Miss Marple mystery will be shocked by this book.
On a more literary note, both Rees and Christie exemplify their times. Christie's England was in fact more tidy than today's, while Rees reflects modern Britain in his despairing of the usefulness of any religion, and his assumption that all decent people share this view.
One Tough School Teacher June 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
 Too Grim for Me June 8, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am willing to give a read at least once to any 'mystery' (or mystery series) set outside the USA. I have enjoyed mysteries set in Israel, Sweden, Italy, Bancok, Mynamar, China (I am a big fan of the Death of a Red Heroine's Inspector Chen). I find myself drawn to the way a mystery can reveal the culture and politics of other countries. I was delighted to find a mystery set in Palestine. I was fully prepared to become a fan of Omar Yussef. The main character of this seies at first seemed appealing - not exactly an anti-hero but nicely muddled, an independent thinker, self-critcal and a man wanting to be faithful to his values. (A man acting sane in an insane place!) This author is amazingly good superb really at conveying a sense of place. But the narrative didn't really work for me - and the main character began to behave in very foolish (seemingly pointless) ways. After awhile I stopped caring about what happened to Mr. Yussef or to almost anyone else in the story really. (The beleaguered police chief was the most interesting character to me. I might read a series with him as the main character - if he would cut down on his drinking a little.) But the whole book was just so terribly grim and hopeless! I read my share of non-fiction and I am okay with grim (and hopeless) in non-fiction. And, though I do not have to have unequivocally happy endings in the mystries I read, I do read mysteries for relaxation and entertainment. This was just so unrelentingly depressing and unpleasant. Maybe some more existentialism would have helped. What worked for me were setting and background elements - very well conveyed - (the snipers on the roof of someone's home, the auto dealers also being bomb makers, the tanks, the Israeli soldiers herding everyone into one room, the red dot (light) from a sniper's rifle - with all this the author is excellent). What didn't work well for me were the characters or the plot. (I know I know the story was based on true events! But that isn't enough for me as a reader. ) I needed something more in the narrative, in the plot and in the main character(s) to become a fan.
 A Really Tough Neighborhood April 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This mystery novel is set in a Bethlehem which has been sealed off from the outside world. It is "occupied Palestine" where young men with guns flout the traditions of respect for the elders, where authority is corrupt or nonexistent and where helpless, ordinary people are caught in the crossfire of "Freedom fighters" and "justified Israeli retaliation". While this is nominally a work of fiction, reading it yields insights into the privations and struggles of the Palestinians just as THE KITE RUNNER allowed a reader to glimpse Afghanistan. The author includes an unusual disclaimer stating "the killers really killed this way and those who died are dead just the same."
The hero and protagonist of this story is Omar Yussef, a teacher of history, a moderate man whose joy is imparting knowledge to children, who maintains contact with his old pupils both Christian and Muslim. He remembers better times and stubbornly sets out to solve the murders of two of his students and a teacher at his school.
Read this book and I guarantee that the news out of Gaza and the Middle East will never sound the same.
Very unusual, and very very good November 16, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I like mystery novels, especially those more in the genre of detective stories. I also like exotic or unusual settings for them. This first novel by journalist Rees is one of those books that will stick with me for a while. The plot is excellent, even if you can guess what's going to happen somewhat in advance of it actually occurring, and the characters are wonderful. The main character, Omar Yussef, is a middle-aged schoolteacher who fears for his job. One of his former students is accused of working for the Israelis, betraying a local businessman to them so that he can be killed. The Israelis insist that the individual is a terrorist, and that his killing was justified. The former student is jailed, and Yussef decides he must prove the man's innocence.
There are multiple layers to the story involved here, and much of what you read is very reasonable, and interesting. It all *sounds* authentic, and the collective result is quite good. The plot of the story works along towards its conclusion pretty well, and is very well-constructed. The author puts together an interesting cast of characters, and has a good ear for dialog.
All in all, this is a very very good book, and I enjoyed it a great deal. Highly recommended.
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