Something Rotten in Israel

Political speechwriters are not usually the target of an assassin, but Russian émigré Nathan Kasakov suspects he may be the anomaly. At a press conference in Tel Aviv, Nathan takes the bullet, but was it intended for his boss, the suave, hawkish prime minister, Simon ben Levi, or for his dovish son (and possibly his successor), Gabriel? Questions abound in Melvin Jules Bukiet’s mysterious and sardonic novel “Strange Fire”, whereas neat answers are exceptional. If the reader is confused by events of this narrative, don’t feel alone; Nathan is similarly confounded.

What we witness here is a nation and government suffused in intrigues, conspiracies, racial, tribal and religious hatreds and a weapons mobocracy. Nathan is sorely motivated to solve the conundrum that envelops him, considering that the next bullet may cause more damage than an injured ear. Nathan is not all-somber resolve. Despite his blindness (a result of his earlier military service in Lebanon), Nathan maintains his irony and irreverent humor. Speaking of senses, Nathan has survived the loss of some pretty important ones and a unique curiosity of this novel is how uses his heightened sense of smell to protect himself. Nathan’s only friend (who he can totally trust) is his faithful guide dog, Goldie.

Nathan is sometimes side tracked from his mission by his gay sexuality. His brief fling with a precocious young Palestinian may have led to the boy’s premature demise. His passion for the beautiful Gabriel is ill advised but at least he learns that it is Gabriel who is the real target of the assassin’s bullet. As noted earlier, there is no shortage of likely suspects in a milieu where you can’t, as Nathan ruefully opines, “tell the terrorists from the statesmen from the business men without a scorecard.” Is the assassin a close advisor to the prime minister, the notorious female Arab arms dealer or “Moshe X” a militant rebel rabbi?

One cannot help but wonder what kind of book Bukiet would have written in 2002, considering the recent terrorist attacks on Israel in the winter of 2001. Never mind, it is probably just as well that the saga of Nathan not be any more complicated.

RECOMMENDED READING: “Strange Fire” by Melvin Jules Bukiet, W. W. Norton and Company, New York, 2001, ISBN 0-393-04938-8.

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