“The Gordian Knot is superbly written with a brilliant plot and totally original”
“Honestly, the book’s climax wherein two Jewish boys miraculously track down an old Nazi is as ridiculous and contrived as plots come”
See, I love most of the plot idea, and I really like the first two parts (David & Buki and Chilik & Shalom). The writing was probably not at all bad in the Hebrew version (I get the feeling a lot of the issue was the translation, but of course I could be wrong). The first two parts were a brilliant idea.
Then comes the third part (Avi & Meitar) wherein are added the neo-Nazis, the evil Islamists, the secret code, the pseudoscience, the long-lost friend, and the kabbalistic rebbe who knows all the secrets. That part seriously justifies everything everyone says about why they don’t like Jewish books. If he’d just left that out, he’d have been in MUCH better shape- I think the original plot was SO much better and deserved MUCH better treatment.
I do recommend the book for the first two sections- you should probably also read the third section in order to know why you shouldn’t.
I can’t recommend enough the works of Haim Sabato. Really incredible. If you read Hebrew well then I’d recommend you start the Hebrew editions, but English translations are also fantastic. If you like thrillers, these ain’t them. They’re much more historical fiction/memoir. The best one IMO (Adjusting Sights) is about the author’s experiences in the Yom Kippur War, and is therefore very Zionist (the author is the rosh yeshiva of a yeshivat hesder)- if you don’t like that, skip it and go on to The Dawning of the Day. I don’t know if they’re sold in Jewish bookstores, though- I got mine on Amazon.
Also, this is PROBABLY not the right forum for this, but I liked The Chosen.
*runs away and hides*