STRANGER AMONG BROTHERS by Lev Hakak...

STRANGER AMONG BROTHERS by Lev Hakak (Ridgefield Publishing, c/o UCLA Dept. of Near Eastern Languages, Los Angeles, Calif., 90024: $4.95)

Lev Hakak is an Iraqi Jew whose family immigrated to their “homeland” of Israel in the 1950s, only to be forced to live in squalid camps for Sephardim (Jews from Arab North Africa), “dwelling amid snakes and scorpions” in tents that would collapse during storms.

It is not easy for writers who harbor resentment over injustice to cultivate sympathy among their readers, for the emotions that come most readily, such as anger, are sure to alienate most readers. In this semi-autobiography, Hakak finds a way out of this dilemma, creating a tightly controlled story that draws us deep into the inner world of his protagonist, Shlomo Maatuk. Hakak’s style is deceptively simple, raising our hopes by eloquently evoking childhood joys, such as Maatuk’s thoughts of his girlfriend: “She was the whole world, and we gazed at one another, breathing, and we alone were there, a web made of alternating threads of shining light and of darkness held us, casting us to the depths of the sea, where we were two pearls in its meshes.” Hakak then builds our sense of indignation by showing how these joys are shattered (the girl is killed after her shanty catches fire) and finally wins our respect by reacting to the injustice with a sense of equanimity, moderation and hope.

Maatuk’s hope comes from his faith that some day he will find a place for himself and his family in Israel, “for Israel was my country, and I would not budge from it.” This novel, then, is ultimately a paean to the power of homeland, showing its paramount importance to people’s pride and identity, whether these people happen to be Ashkenazim (Jews from Europe), Sephardim, or Palestinians.