Although the writing is brilliant, the shifting focus from one character to another just didn't come together and as the book progressed, I enjoyed it less and less. ( )

I bought MOVING KINGS because I'd so enjoyed author Joshua Cohen's novel, THE NETANYAHUS. This one, however, with a much larger cast of characters, was a bit harder to follow, as the various stories didn't always quite mesh. David King is a wealthy Jewish magnate in the moving and storage business in and around NYC and New Jersey. He is divorced, and in a long-standing affair with his secretary, Ruth, and also trying to maintain contact with his adult daughter, Tammy, a recovering addict. He makes a quick trip to Israel to illegally hide a bout a half million bucks in a bank there, so his ex-wife won't get it. An Israeli cousin's son, Yoav, just done with his national service with the IDF, travels to the U.S. to work for David, but has no legal work papers. An IDF friend, Uri, follows him there and also goes to work for David. The pair have a complicated history (much here about their time in the IDF, where Uri apparently saved Yoav's life in a Gaza conflict - this part is almost a separate story, a war story) and Uri speaks no English. Another character, a Muslim convert, also enters the equation as one being evicted and locked out of his home, as the King Movers come to clean out the house in the dead of winter. Violence and tragedy ensues. You see what I mean? There's a lot going on here. And it doesn't always hang together coherently, though each of the characters have fascinating personal stories. It's almost like a collection of separate, but related stories. I liked it, but ... Cohen is an enormously talented writer. I recommend this one, but be prepared to work, and pay very close attention, when you read it.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )

Just wasn't engaging for me ( )

This was a fast read. I enjoyed the author's writing style. The story was fast-paced and entertaining. The end was a bit of a let-down. The story is about a Jewish man, David, who is a business owner of a moving, storage company in NYC. He has his nephew from Israel come to assist following his service in the Israeli army. Some of the secondary characters are not as clearly integrated into the story and the end seems a bit abrupt. The details from NYC seemed very authentic as did the sections talking about life in modern-day Israel. ( )

MOVING KINGS by Joshua Cohen is about two young men, Yoav and Uri, former Israeli soldiers, who have moved to New York and work for Yoav's uncle, David King, at his moving business, Kings Moving Inc. There are many aspects that MOVING KINGS, like race, class structure, the after effects of war, trust, and family consider. Cohen brings a very unique perspective to such topics by following Yoav, Uri, their uncle David, and others looking at how each of them think and feel and how that contrasts to how they outwardly act. As I was reading the book, I wasn't really seeing the depth of emotions that each of these people carry around with them, but once I finished, I can't stop pondering and processing what was really going on inside of them. There several times I thought the book was could have progressed the plot a little more and a little faster. I wanted a little more with Yoav and Uri and a little less of everyone else as well.
I think it speaks well of a book if you keep thinking about it after you have finished reading and MOVING KINGS will be one of those books. I wished that the book stayed focused a little more, but nevertheless, it brings up thought provoking and important perspectives that are topical and important in today's world of international relations.
I received this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway program. ( )