I made heavy weather of reading The Palace of Angels, not because of any flaw in the writing, but because of its devastating subject-matter.  For my entire adult life, the Israel-Palestinian conflict has been a running sore, and whether I read Israeli authors or Palestinian ones, whether the books reinforce entrenched positions or argue for some kind of resolution, I always feel oppressed by what seems to be a hopeless situation.

The Palace of Angels consists of three linked novellas, What’s is Past is Dead; Twenty Two Years to Life and The Palace of Angels. What’s Past is Dead is a prequel: it’s about two youths trading hashish for weapons for the Palestinian side.  Their plans are reckless and naïve, but their life experience is not.  They have seen the capriciousness of death and they know, as all Palestinians know, that their side is and always will be outclassed militarily. …