Evan Fallenberg

Like many books I've read recently, The Parting Gift perfectly executes what it sets out to do, even if I personally didn't entirely enjoy the experience of reading it.

Here is a very tight and tense novel of obsessive jealousy, where sexual encounters are battlegrounds, and where sex acts are the way characters exert power over one another. Because this is an epistolary novel everything that happens is filtered through one mind, the mind of a man who is extremely perceptive, and entirely amoral, and obsessively jealous. It is a revenge story, but one where the avenger seems far more morally questionable than those whom he believes have wronged him. This extreme story is set in a suburb of Tel Aviv where relations between Jews and Arabs and in particular Palestinian Arabs come into play in terms of power dynamics and sexual dynamics. The narrator is American and not entirely fluent in Hebrew. His foreign-ness to the dynamics of culture and language add another layer of tension to his narrative. He acts decisively even though he is clearly an outsider who has no reason to be sure of his perceptions of others.

Frequently with books that leave me feeling unhappy and unsettled I'm at a loss about what to do with these silly star ratings but usually I come out thinking if I can honestly say "this book perfectly executes its intention, no matter how I felt about it personally" then I should probably call it a 5-star read.

I didn't love this book, but I damn sure won't forget it.

Original review:

This novel gives all the pleasure in reading it as does drinking ipecac or picking at a scab or chewing the inside of your cheek until it bleeds.… (más)