CITY OF A THOUSAND GATES

The titular city is Jerusalem, with parts of the audiobook also set in Hebron, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, and Ramallah. The characters live in all those cities. There is no single story; instead there are numerous points of view, and narrator Lameece Issaq relies on subtle accents and the text to keep listeners oriented. This seems to be an interpretive choice, as it stresses the common humanity of all the people, Israeli and Palestinian, who pass by and through each other's lives. It also enables the listener to feel the fear in all the parties involved in this most intractable of conflicts. That galaxy of fear is the real center of this audiobook. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2021]