THE BETRAYERS by David Bez mozgis (HarperCollins), 225 pages, $29.99 cloth. Rating: NNNN
Everyone’s on shaky moral ground in this terrific novel – shortlisted for the Giller Prize – about an Israel politician fleeing scandal who escapes to his childhood hometown, Yalta.
Even when intelligence agents threaten to expose his extramarital affair, Kotler stands his ground against his government’s decision to dismantle West Bank settlements. And when the dailies trumpet his infidelity, he leaves his wife and son, taking his mistress, Leora, only to encounter Tankilevich, a fellow Jew who betrayed dissident Kotler to the KGB over 30 years ago.
Both men are still grappling with their life-changing decisions, Kotler guilty about betraying the wife who stuck with him for over 10 years while he was imprisoned, Tankilevich for collaborating with the KGB only to be treated poorly by anti-Semites. And when Kotler shockingly tells his soldier son to obey the order to remove the settlers – rules are rules – the moral questions become even trickier.
Bezmozgis has fashioned a slim piece of fiction that is almost perfectly structured. It could be adapted to the stage or screen to great effect.
From the start, the ethics are murky. No sooner do you feel comfortable with the set-up and imagine you’ve grasped the personal quandaries than the author throws in another ethical twist.
And it can’t be coincidental that Kotler won’t bend to a bully government yet supports a policy that in itself is morally questionable.
Even more of a triumph is Bezmozgis’s ability to evoke the specific experience of Russian Jews – both those who stayed and those who made their way to Israel/Palestine – and how difficult it is for the betrayed and the betrayers to forgive.
Bezmozgis reads at the International Festival of Authors on October 25. ifoa.org
susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole
