2.5 starsI was excited to get a copy of this book from the BEA selection on NetGalley. I don’t usually read this genre of books, but I had a personal interest in the subject matter. The People of Forever Are Not Afraid is the story of three childhood friends from a small village in the north of Israel. Avishag, Yael, and Lea are finishing high school and about to be drafted into obligatory service in the Israeli army, a rite of passage for all Israeli young adults. Told from differing points of view, and not only the points of view of the women, the book is an account of life in Israel from young adults. Their life in the army alternates from mostly boredom, to moments of excitement, sadness, and depression. Then there’s the sex to counteract the moments of boredom. Their future prospects are limited. Boyfriends and potential lovers get killed. Their reality is so different from life in North America. Some chapters were entertaining. The girls get assigned to different locations and jobs during their service. One girl watches as young Arab children brazenly steal things from her base – all sorts of metal – signs, bullet casings, and even the fence. Life at checkpoints is boring so one of the girls makes up stories about the men that pass through. One of the girls calls her boyfriend regularly to break up and get back together again, on a whim. Other chapters are heartbreaking. On the southern front, where the Egyptians watched the Israelis and the Israeli watch the Egyptians, some shady border crossings happen. In an area that is often volatile, international incidents need to be avoided at all costs. There is a long, drawn out rape scene near the end of the book.Life after military service is not easy and it is interesting to see what happens to the girls and how they coped with what they had seen. Why 2.5 stars? While the subject matter was fascinating, the writing style was a little confusing. I found it difficult to follow and the shift in point of views was distracting. There were also shifts in points of view of other characters and this made the book feel a little disjointed for me. I think that this situation may have been remedied by adding sub-headings with the characters’ names.Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.
