Review of 'West Jerusalem Noir' – short stories
Noirfiction can be defined as crime fiction with dark themes, often featuring 'adisturbing mixture of sex and violence'. The stories of West Jerusalem Noir(Akashic Books, November 2023) are somewhat tamer; their protagonists areconfronted with the dark complexities of living in a city filled with national,religious, and socioeconomic tension.
WestJerusalem Noir of the Akashic Noir Series is published simultaneouslywith East Jerusalem Noir, a companion collection that tells of the unfulfilledhopes and dreams of Jerusalem's Arab residents, their lives vastly differentfrom those living in the western half of the city.
In WestJerusalem Noir, the story 'You Can't See the Occupation from Here'by Ilana Bernstein takes place on the Israeli side of the city. The protagonistworks in a secret lab on Hebrew University's Mount Scopus campus, where she'sfilling in for a translator on maternity leave. Working in the lab 'involvesquite a few sacrifices,' she thinks. 'Those who come in here don't leave soquickly'. A Palestinian woman, complete with a 'floral pink and cerulean hijab'is reportedly the CEO of the company. But what about national security? theprotagonist wonders. Nothing is as it seems.
Inthe story 'Arson,' by Ilan Rubin Fields, police investigate whether someone setfire to the trees flanking the gardens of Peace Park, near Jerusalem's FrenchHill neighborhood. In possibly the best story in the anthology,'Chrysanthemums' by Asaf Schurr, a father takes it upon himself to cover up hisdaughter Michal's crime. "You didn't kill anyone, you hear me?" headmonishes her. "I'll take care of everything, understood?"
Theheroine of 'Murder at Sam Spiegel' by Liat Elkayam wakes up in a small room inthe famed film and television school to find a student filmmaker 'on a swivelchair, his head hanging backward at a completely inhuman angle … a long riverof blood snaking from his stomach'. This launches the protagonist intodetective mode, but the investigation is more than she can handle.
InElkayam's story, an entry ramp to the Jerusalem Cinematheque is sprayed withgraffiti declaring 'Jerusalem – a city held together with masking tape'.The stories of the collection are taped together by their Jerusalem setting. Whilesome readers may find the book disjointed, with unsatisfactory plots andendings, many of the stories are memorable and will leave much to think about.
Thecollection's editor, Maayan Eitan, says they take place in a 'concrete,contemporary, and complicated Jerusalem'. She is correct in stating that the 15stories included in West Jerusalem Noir 'could not have taken placeanywhere else'. Indeed, readers will have a 'chance to visit Jerusalem likethey've never seen it before'.
Originally posted on The Times of Israel.
