The People of Forever are not Afraid

The People of Forever Are Not Afraid by Shani Boianjiu: review

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Nothing like a novel by a young recruit to tell you the truths about an army, as in, say, From Here to Eternity and The Naked and the Dead. And though it may not be the first of its kind — Moshe Dayan's daughter Yael published some fiction about the Israeli army decades ago — Boianjiu's debut novel has some virtues all its own, and some flaws. One of the virtues comes in the form of the appealing main characters — three friends, Yael, Avishag and Lea — who are drafted at the same time, girls from an outlying Israeli village who are desperately bored and monumentally horny, for whom military service does not seem very appealing.

In uniform they remain just as bored and sexually on the make. They make the most of their tours of duty by, among other things, dissing dark-skinned Jewish immigrants in their barracks, fantasizing about Arab laborers who cross through the checkpoints they guard, and creating an international disturbance by climbing their guard towers, stripping off their uniforms and lying out in plain view of the Egyptian soldiers armed with binoculars manning guard posts just over the border.

Or, as one young woman rifle instructor does, helping to improve the aim of a young male soldier and then dragging him off to seduce him in the sand dunes near the rifle range. The novel is initially just as seductive. Boianjiu works in simple, direct prose, with which she gives us the frustrations and annoyances of military service — as when the recruits have to leave the female dorm early in the morning to head for a checkpoint.

It switches between the characters perspectives too much every new chapter was someone else speaking in the first person. It was confusing at times. The timeline of the book was not smooth. Events from different years was randomly thrown in, many events were repeated numerous times, it skipped years and I wasn't sure what year we were in, etc.

At one point they were going into the Lebanon war in and then next chapter I had no idea what time we were in. The ending was left very open. We go from the extremely shocking event to the ending chapter that seemed out of place to me.

I would of liked to know what became of the girls. There should of been more closure. I did like the book and am again very happy to have won it. Jul 17, Augusta rated it it was amazing Shelves: It's not very often you get a female's perspective on war in literature but this is probably one of the best books I read this year. Powerful imagery, beautiful language, thought-provoking. There are repetitious bits and some changing perspectives that might throw some people off but I thought it helped add depth to the story. Don't miss this one. View all 15 comments.

The People of Forever Are Not Afraid tells the story of these three normal Israeli girls from passing notes in school, talking about boys to turning eighteen and being conscripted into the army. Growing up in this intense war torn world changes everything, even for three normal teenage girls. Though this is so much different; these three girls are plucked from their normal teenage lives, put into the army and forced to grow up rather quickly. There are some really interesting themes throughout this novel.

Firstly there are the major themes of growing up as an Israeli girl and conscription, and Shani Boianjiu is the voice of experience here; at the age of 18, she entered the Israeli Defence Forces and served for two years. Though I have a feeling that Lea, Avishag and Yael all have an element of Boianjiu in them; I like how she has the three different personalities within the book to help show the how war really effects a person.

This brings us to the theme of War; while for the most of the book they are living in a perpetual state of war, the conflict between Israel and Lebanon still puts them into real danger. Though the reader has to ask themselves if eighteen too young to deal with war; they are still in a state of self-discovery when they are thrown into such an extreme situation. I remember the cheesy lines made me chuckle like the idea of a mother not wanting her daughter to have a party because she was worried that her friends will break her hymen.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http: Aug 08, Joe rated it liked it. Stories about the army generally tend to fall into one of two categories: At the start of the book, Yael, Avishag and Lea are three friends graduating high school and anxious about their upcoming compulsory stint in the Israeli D Stories about the army generally tend to fall into one of two categories: At the start of the book, Yael, Avishag and Lea are three friends graduating high school and anxious about their upcoming compulsory stint in the Israeli Defence Forces.

Yael is assigned to a border post near Hebron where young Arab children steal everything including the fence that surrounds the camp. Avishag joins the only combat infantry unit for women and is assigned to the Sinai border where she spends her days flirting and watching refugees sneak across the Egyptian border on her computer screen.

Lea, meanwhile, works at a Hebron checkpoint, monitoring Palestinian day workers crossing into Israel. She belongs to the blue-bereted military police which she hates, and is the least satisfying of all possible assignments. She is undoubtedly a talented writer but on this, her first novel, her youthful, unstructured writing needs some direction and a guiding hand. There are several moments of brilliance,but the constantly-changing point of view which switches from one chapter to the next between that of each of the three girls gets annoying really quickly. They all speak with that same detached, cynical, anti-establishment voice of a young woman, that makes it hard to distinguish at times who is speaking.

A Hebrew version is slated to be published in Israel later next year. Sep 18, Magdelanye rated it really liked it Shelves: It existed outside our heads. This may serve as an anchor to reality, so that the power of the present is not overwhelmed by a plethora of ephemera. We tend to cling to indicators of our identity,which provide the continuity of our POV.

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Assuming another identity, whether for If L. Assuming another identity, whether for professional reasons or for survival, challenges this continuity, and it is not surprising that people who are so displaced, have issues with reality, if that even exists with any stability.

This book claims to be a novel, capitalizing on the connections between the characters who we follow in alternating stories that leapfrog between past and present. Considered this way, in spite of the many provocative insights available to the attentive reader, the arc of the story is fractured.

The strong writing of the opening is not carried through. Considered as a collection of interlinked short stories relegates the weak ending to merely one of the less successful stories without spoiling the whole book. Yes, I was somewhat disappointed but its hardly logical to expect that a book unafraid to examine an untenable situation should also contain the solution. In fact, I assumed this book was science fiction when I grabbed it off a display shelf at the library.

What a surprise to find out it that it is an intense exploration of coming of age in a war zone and the devastating cumulative effects of military occupation. Jun 11, Julie rated it it was ok Shelves: Instead of a well-crafted, engaging narrative, what I found was unstructured stream-of-consciousness anecdotes, constantly changing perspectives, and disjointed prose. The perspectives of Yael, Avishag and Lea are difficult to differentiate.

Then once I got used to a particular voice, there would be another perspective change, even to 3rd person, and I found this very disorienting. Most exasperating was that there was not a smooth story. Chapters would just address a particular event or idea, then all of a sudden it would be a year later and the situation would be dramatically different. The biggest let-down was that the end was left completely unresolved. It was one of the most unsatisfying conclusions I had ever read.

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There were some minor redeeming qualities, but those are overshadowed by my utter lack of enjoyment reading this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. Feb 05, Roger DeBlanck rated it it was amazing Shelves: The central story chronicles the lives of three teenage Israeli girls—Yael, Avishag, and Lea—all of them seniors in high school and soon to be conscripted into the army. Boianjiu addresses the fear and uncertainty of the girls and relates how their teetering despair fuels rebellion against their confusion and loneliness.

As challenges surface throughout their two years of military service and beyond, their need to feel alive and meaningful in the world becomes obsessive. This need simmers with urgency and gathers into a searing force to confront the outrage of injustice and inhumanity and to achieve their desire for independence. It is fierce, enthralling, eye-opening, and ultimately life-affirming as it charts the lives of the three girls on the cusp of womanhood and a future for themselves in which they yearn for direction in their lives.

Jun 23, Lauren rated it liked it Recommends it for: Diane Sasson, Brenna Cothran,. This was a grim read but one I'd still recommend. I appreciated rather than enjoyed the story, the relationships between the three girls, the utter boredom and despair of the town they lived in by the Lebanese border to Jewify the Galilee in the words of one of the girls , the almost casual violence of their time in the army, the checkpoints, the border patrols, the hostility towards Mizrahi Jews in Israel, and the rampant sexism expressed in so much of their culture.

It kind of falls apart tow This was a grim read but one I'd still recommend. It kind of falls apart toward the end, though there were some chapters that moved me to tears. I'll be watching for more from Boianjui but it's a tough tough book. Yael, Lea, and Avishag are friends. As the years passed Lea became the outcast. Although nothing will compare for these three woman than spending time serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. This book will have you thankful that you are alive and are not a female living in Israel. I did have the idea that I was going to join the Air Force and become a pilot and stay for ten years and then retire.

I would have been in my mid thirties and th Yael, Lea, and Avishag are friends. I would have been in my mid thirties and then gotten married. Well my plans did change.

Not to say that my little experience makes me an expert and I am very grateful to all the service men and women who do serve. I am still fascinated by military and thus have read many military themed books. This is why I was interested to read this book.

The People of Forever Are Not Afraid

I thought that Ms. Boianjiu gives a good voice to the three women in this book even if that was not her true intent based on an interview question in the back of this book. It was funny however as I thought that I would like Lea the less but I ended up liking her the most. The second person that I liked was Avishag and thirdly, Yael. Yael the least because after a while I got turned off by her constant flirting. Boianjiu did nice job giving me a visual of what the three women experienced while fighting.

At times although with this detail comes a slow pace in the reading which is what did happen to me. A good, strong showing for first time author Shani Boianjiu. Jan 26, Jeremy rated it liked it Shelves: I'm not sure what to think of a book whose author published it in a second language when she was only Boianjiu's prose has a weirdly flat quality to it, though its obvious that she often tries to translate Hebrew idioms directly into English. If the prose is clunky and feels a bit off, it is in an entirely intentional way.

Yet is works more often than not, she gets into the heads of her three protagonists and manages to convey the dual currents of sheer anxiety and total boredom which animat I'm not sure what to think of a book whose author published it in a second language when she was only Yet is works more often than not, she gets into the heads of her three protagonists and manages to convey the dual currents of sheer anxiety and total boredom which animate military service for so many young Israelis.

Her characters voices have a tough, worldly quality to them, not because they are young soldiers in the idf, but because secretly that's how lots of young people, soldiers or otherwise, think. The book doesn't really build too much, the voices of Lea, Yael and Avishag are too close, too intimate to really allow for any traditional notion of development, which is fine with me, and reflects adolescence better than some progressive sense of awareness and triumph. There is a jarring scene towards the end which feels almost completely ridiculous, though oddly, not totally implausible, it's a testament to the flexibility of Boianjiu's narration that these sorts of moments just enhance the overall weirdness of the book instead of totally ruining it.

The ambiance she creates, especially in the early half of the book, of quiet moments on barren, sun-parched hillsides when you have nothing to do but think, evokes fairly accurately what life feels like in much of rural Israel, probably much of the rural middle east in general. Boianjiu is obviously a very young, very odd writer to watch out for. Sep 06, Sharon rated it it was amazing. I hardly can write this review without hyperbole. Interlocking perspectives that are as distinct as possible for characters going through the process of getting to know themselves in the midst of an inexplicable war that severs them from their hopes and humanity.

Yet the perspectives also blend into the beautiful commons of characters who grew up together and are now facing the same puzzling and perverse military duties. And when you think the characters - these women, brave an Gorgeous and raw.

Catherine Taylor admires a brave, beautiful evocation of life as an Israeli conscript

And when you think the characters - these women, brave and flawed - have won peace with themselves - and an uneasy peace with their future - a gutwrenching chapter descends upon them, told with the flattest of tones, as if to say what else would you expect, reader? An amazing book, ripping, stunning, unfair, and important.

Sep 26, Esil rated it liked it. I think I echo other readers in my reaction to this book. The idea of writing a novel based on the experience of being a female soldier in Israel is a great one. So I was really looking forward to reading this book. So I couldn't help being a bit disappointed with the actual book. But much of my reaction is based on what I anticipated the book would or should be. On its own, leaving anticipation aside, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid is a quirky and at times powerful depiction of late adole I think I echo other readers in my reaction to this book.

At the end of the day, I like parts of it but can't say that I loved it or felt I could really understand the characters being depicted. Dec 09, Rebecca McNutt rated it really liked it Shelves: This book was very haunting throughout, but the friendship between the characters was very deep, realistic and easy to relate to. Dec 10, Alyssa rated it it was ok. I really wanted to love this, but I can't get passed the continual vulgar jokes and foul language. Dec 10, Corey rated it liked it Shelves: This is the story of three young women from a small northern town in Israel.

The story follows them from the end of high school, through their army service and into the beginning of their young adult life. How one day you are a high school kid, forced to follow a prescribed routine and treated like a child, and the next day you are an adult, and forced to relinquish your will and your right to make choices if you ever had any during high school and accept more than the full burden of adult responsibility. Because so little has been written from this perspective and so few people have experienced it, how can you write about it in a realistic way and not contribute something new?

There were parts that seemed to be building up to a big revelation. There were elements that were definitely realistic and rang true… many such elements… but there was also so much missing and so much extraneous that the book was just a big mess at the end. My army service, and that of most women that I know, was by and large mundane. And that, in itself, was an absurdity that I would have liked to read about but was utterly lacking from this book.

Also, the three protagonists are a complete jumble in my head and there was no larger overarching message that I came away with… nothing. I kept waiting for it to tie together or make some sort of a larger statement, and there was just fuckall. But the main thing that bothered me about this book was that the three main characters were not at all representative of real people that I know, so their experiences were largely unrecognizable.

They all had serious emotional issues. The chapter where the women were older and were trapped on the base by young male soldiers was bizarre and disgusting and so unrelated to anything realistic, it was actually annoying to read. Granted, this was a much better effort than anything that I could ever pull together, but it just felt really young, under-formed and immature.

Also, the language bothered me a lot. I often felt like I was reading a direct translation of Hebrew to English. Especially at the beginning of the book, the grammar was technically correct, but somehow the sentences were all too short and simple and it was hard to imagine a native English speaker — from anywhere — actually using the language in that way. Sep 26, Jeff Scott rated it it was amazing Shelves: They are the failure of the generations before them.

And they all do compulsory military service, just like this book's main characters, three young female friends who grow up in a dull, peripheral town in today's Israel, then join the army, where they are really bored. To mitigate boredom — one of the many features of army life for which they are hopelessly unprepared — they imagine a lot of outlandish scenarios.

Also, being late teenagers, they flirt with boys and fret about the future — and sometimes they harass and humiliate Palestinians at checkpoints, just to pass the time. Effusively praised, this first novel was picked up for translation into 22 languages when it was a just-commissioned promise based on a string of short stories.

The People of Forever Are Not Afraid by Shani Boianjiu – review

The novel has also been longlisted for the Women's fiction prize. The book has that contradictory impulse of much army fiction, in which compulsory military service is depicted as brutalising a nation's young adults what it does to those living under military occupation is not in the frame , as well as an elevating rites-of-passage. The girls come from a flimsy insult of a village on Israel's border with Lebanon, one of those into which non-European Jews were dumped and left to deal with it. Lea ends up serving at West Bank checkpoints, letting Palestinians into Israel — the ones with permits "that assured they weren't the type likely to stay in Israel for ever or try to kill us".

Bored, she invents life stories for one of these crumpled Palestinian men — until the real version slices open the neck of one of her checkpoint colleagues.

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