The Human Scale

by Lawrence Wright

Fiction

Mentioned in 0 episodes

A Novel: Lawrence Wright at the height of his powers. Centers around the newfound—and forced—relationship between a Palestinian American FBI agent and a hard-line Israeli cop, working together uneasily to solve the murder of the Israeli police chief in Gaza. Moving, thrilling, with extraordinary scope, it does for Palestine and Israel what Gorky Park did years ago for Russia. In the vein of John le Carré and Graham Greene, this is the rare novel that manages to entertain, educate, and deeply move the reader. Tony Malik is a half-Irish, half-Arab New York–based FBI agent, specializing in money flowing from drug and arms deals. The novel opens in shocking fashion, with Malik seriously injured by a terrorist-planted bomb. During his lengthy recuperative process, his life changes radically. A long-term relationship ends, and his job is on the verge of being taken away from him. During this period he learns more about his roots and becomes interested in his father's past and family—his father came to America years ago from Palestine. Malik decides to make a trip to his father's homeland to attend the wedding of his niece, whom he has never met. As a result of his plans, he is given a simple assignment by his boss at the FBI, partly to see how well he can still do his job. That simple assignment becomes anything but simple. As soon as he arrives in Gaza, the Israeli police chief overseeing the area is murdered. Malik is at first a suspect. Then, due to his superior investigative skills, he is invited into the Israeli investigation, seeking the murderer. At the core of this novel is Malik's relationship with Yossi, the hard-line anti-Arab Israeli police officer leading the investigation. They must learn to trust each other because, as they move closer to solving the case, they realize there is no one else they can trust on either side. Extraordinary three-dimensional characters populate this novel: Yossi's daughter, studying in Paris, trying to escape the violence that sur

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