Batya Gur (1947–2005)

The subtitles of Gur's detective series featuring Israeli detective Superintendent Michael Ohayon give the reader a hint of what's in store....this one is "A Critical Case". (It's more than just word play although I love them for that alone; the first was The Saturday Morning Murder: A Psychoanalytical Case, and next up is Murder on the Kibbutz: A Communal Case.) One does not approach these expecting thrill-a-minute action or Holmesian deduction. They are intellectual exercises above and beyond simply figuring out whodunit. In this one, the key to solving two murders within the Hebrew Literature department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem lies in philosophical debate over artistic ethics. Despite his superior's repeated declarations that the police department "is NOT a university", it is Ohayon's academic background and growing understanding of politics within that community which allows him to finally parse out how a nationally recognized poet and one of his most fervent disciples ended up dead by violence within days of one another. Lots of fairly dense discussion among the characters about the value of poetry, what constitutes "good" poetry, what can and should be sacrificed to Art, as well as some true literary criticism and interpretation of Biblical references in the work of poets Natan Zach and Solomon ibn Gabirol made this a challenging, yet rewarding read. If I have a quibble it is that occasionally I felt I might be missing something due to the translation.… (meer)

This is the first in a short series of detective novels featuring Chief Inspector Michael Ohayon of Jerusalem's Major Crime Unit. Ohayon is a policeman by default, as he was on course to earn a PhD in Medieval history when he found himself "trapped" into marrying his pregnant girlfriend. We meet him years later, when his marriage has dissolved, and he is again feeling somewhat trapped in a career he is not terribly enthusiastic about. He is, nevertheless, a good investigator, and when he is faced with the particularly puzzling murder of a prominent psychoanalyst, he brings his unique thought processes to bear on the few clues he has to work with. This is not a fast-paced, high suspense, thrill-a-minute police procedural, but rather, as the subtitle tells us, "A psychoanalytic case". I enjoyed it very much and will carry on with the next in the series, Literary Murder. Translated from the original Hebrew.… (meer)

Una novela policíaca en donde la trama policial es lo menos relevante. La autora es incapaz de provocar en el lector incertidumbres y suposiciones respecto a quién puede ser el asesino. Ni siquiera parece destacable la resolución del caso, tan sólo como cierre de la obra.
Parece que toda la novela y el aparente argumento es una excusa para hablar del movimiento kibbutz, convirtiéndose en el auténtico tema argumental. Aquí la autora, sin explayarse en demasía en explicaciones farragosas, es una novela y no un ensayo, describe bastante bien lo que es un kibbutz, su desarrollo, sus virtudes y carencias, sus contradicciones y tensiones internas, la posibilidad o dificultad de cambios estructurales profundos en el movimiento dentro del seno de la actual sociedad israelí,…
En suma, una mediocre novela policíaca pero una excelente introducción para quién esté interesado en esa mezcla de socialismo y sionismo que dio origen y sustentó el desarrollo durante décadas del movimiento kibbutz y en alguna medida del estado de Israel.… (meer)

Batya Gur vuelve a presentarnos al comisario israelí Michael Ohayon, ahora decidido a resolver un crimen que ha tenido lugar en una sociedad compleja y cerrada: el kibbutz. Informado repetidamente de que «quien no haya vivido en un kibbutz no puede comprender cómo es la vida allí», Ohayon penetra con mayor determinación el espíritu del mundo que debe investigar. De forma gradual, revelando poco a poco los secretos del kibbutz, desenmascarando todas las contradicciones de este estilo de vida tan idealizado, Batya Gur logra crear una ingeniosa y original novela policiaca que examina la crisis de fe política e ideológica de la sociedad israelí a través del fascinante mundo del kibbutz.… (meer)