Book Review: Basha

Reviewed By: Jeff Kreider - RAM

Basha     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
John Hamilton Lewis
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller   Terrorists   Ethnic

Basha by John Hamilton Lewis (author of Opal Eye Devil from last summer) is a code name of a middle east terrorist who has suddenly materialized and is killing off prominent members of the Jewish community. The story characterizes the motives and mechanisms of Arab terrorism against Israelis. A young Arab boy, a tennis prodigy, is taken "under the wing" of Jewish ex-world class tennis player-turned coach. In spite of a promise to the boy's parents to the contrary, he brings the boy up as a Jew, adopts him and tells the boy his biological "Jewish" parents were killed by Palestinian terrorists. I found it a powerfully compelling story. Imagine a young adult; a world class athlete, is emerging into manhood and the world spot light. He has just met a woman with whom he feels he could spend the rest of his life. Everything is ahead of him. Nowhere to go but up. Then, in a matter of weeks, he looses his step-father, mentor, and coach to cancer. Then finds out, from his real, biological brother, that his whole life has been a lie. He is not a Jew, but a Palestinian, literally stolen from his real family. Just as he was beginning to get his head around this, his new-found brother is murdered in a counter-terrorist attack by the Israelis. I couldn't help but wonder where the story could possibly go. Will Love win out, he sees the error of his ways? That won't work. However, misguided and manipulated, he does do murder. Does he get caught by the CIA who's hot on his trail? Good, but then it's not about Basha, it's about the CIA -- so that's out. Suffice it to say, it has a WOW ending. It's easily my best read of the year!

The book was actually completed prior to the 9-11-01 attacks and there is obvious evidence that the story was "touched" up after those attacks to incorporate the subsequent changes in international sentiment and perspective. The story is a combination of things. First, it is a look into the irony of a Palestinian being brought up as a Jew and the effect it has on him when he discovers his true heritage. It is also a study in the mechanism of this kind of terrorism itself. It is not so much about religion, race, ideology or even nationalism; it's about power. Ideology, et al, enters into it only as motivating factors for the underlings, and then, only, maybe. It's a love story between a tortured man and young woman. It's about a father's love for his daughter and trying to make up for lost time. I highly recommend it. It's due out in February 2002.

Jeff Kreider - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jeff Kreider - RAM