Product Details
Washington Square Press, April 2003
Trade Paperback, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 0743463390
ISBN-13: 9780743463393
Description
Laura Blumenfeld's father was shot in Jerusalem in 1986 by a member of a rebel faction of the PLO responsible for attacks on several tourists. Her father survived, but Blumenfeld's desire for revenge haunted her. This is her story -- and a fascinating study of the mechanics and psychology of vengeance.
While plotting to infiltrate her father's shooter's life, Blumenfeld travels the globe gathering stories of other avengers. Through interviews with Yitzhak Rabin's assassin; members of the Albanian Blood Feud Committee; the chief of the Iranian judiciary; the mayor of Palermo, Sicily; the Israeli prime minister; priests; sports fans; fifth-grade girls; prostitutes; and more, she explores the dynamics of hate -- and the fine line that sometimes separates it from love.
Ultimately, Blumenfeld's target is more complex than the stereotypical terrorist she'd long imagined. In a surprising twist, she gets revenge, but not according to traditional expectations. She discovers a third way, a choice beyond "turn the other cheek" or "an eye for an eye." And with it she answers the age-old question: what is the best revenge?
Janet MaslinThe New York TimesA vitally important story....Revenge is written with such forcefulness and immediacy that by the end of her story [Blumenfeld] has carried the reader through an intellectual transformation akin to her own.
Washington PostPassionate, gripping...A work of ambition and humanity.
Baltimore SunA remarkable, affecting book...unlike any other reportage from the Middle East.
Kara SwisherWall Street Journal columnist and author of AOL.COMOnly the most deft of writers could produce a book that is both a poignant and unflinching look at the price of violence and a riotously funny and sometimes bizarre account of one person's journey of self-revelation. It's about the secrets we keep without knowing them and the kind of bravery it takes to break through these deceptions to find love and understanding.
Jonathan Rosenauthor of The Talmud and the Internet and Eve's AppleI felt I was reading a deeply absorbing novel
-- the splendid eye for detail, the honesty, the beautiful portraits of characters were absolutely wonderful and memorable.
