This is no utopia…
1996. Northern Israel. Lola leaves an unhappy home life in England for the fabled utopian life of a kibbutz, but this heavily guarded farming community on the Arab-Israeli border isn’t the idyll it seems, and tensions are festering.
Hundreds of miles away, in the Jerusalem offices of the International Tribune newspaper, all eyes are on Israel’s response to a spate of rocket attacks from Lebanon, until cub reporter Jonny Murphy gets a tip from a mysterious source that sends him straight into the danger zone.
When the body of an Arab worker is discovered in the dirt of the kibbutz chicken house, it triggers a series of events that puts Lola and the whole community in jeopardy, and Jonny begins to uncover a series of secrets that put everything at risk, as he begins to realise just how far some people will go to belong…
It's my turn to host the blog tour for Dirt by Sarah Sultoon today. Many thanks to Orenda Books and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for sending me an advance copy of the novel.
Nobody could ever accuse Sarah Sultoon of avoiding difficult subjects in her books. Her debut, The Source looked at historic abuse allegations at an army base while her second novel, The Shot featured searing scenes from both a war-ravaged Kabul and genocide hit Darfur. In Dirt she once again heads into incendiary territory, setting her third book in a kibbutz on the border between Israel and Lebanon.
It is 1996, a few months after the assassination of Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin and a month since the devastating terrorist attack in a Tel Aviv shopping mall. More recently, the kibbutzniks have contended with missiles launched from Southern Lebanon flying over their heads. However, it's a murder on the ground which is the first shocking moment in the book. The actual means in which an Arab worker is killed in a chicken house isn't actually that violent but what happens afterwards is almost too horrific to contemplate.
His death sends shockwaves throughout the kibbutz and it quickly becomes evident that this community isn't quite as cohesive as its ideology might suggest. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, cub reporter Jonny Murphy writes for the International Tribune as is desperate to make his mark. He believes he may have a chance when a tip-off alerts him to the discovery of the body at Beit Liora and is able to convince his boss that there may just be a story worth pursuing. It's only when he arrives in the north, that he discovers an even more pressing reason to investigate further.
The narrative is divided between Jonny and kibbutz volunteer, Lola and while a murder may appear to be the catalyst for all that follows, this is really a novel about decisions and mistakes made in the past. Lola is an intriguingly complex character and it becomes increasingly clear that her past has left a dark shadow which helps explain some of the choices she makes throughout the book. She isn't an easy person to understand; is she fragile, fickle or both? Her sense of panic is obvious but quite how much she has to hide is kept obscured and it means she elicits both sympathy and suspicion.
Jonny is far more likeable and his reasons for being so keen to find out more about the kibbutz are understandably poignant. His early keenness and perhaps even flashes of youthful arrogance are soon lost as he realises Beit Liora is awash with secrets and duplicity. Dirt isn't an especially fast-paced novel and the complicated, nuanced storyline demands attention but as with all Sarah Sultoon's books, there's a ring of authenticity which ensures a real sense of immersiveness.
Dirt is a multilayered story which, although imbued with the politics of the region, doesn't take sides and instead explores how hatred and divisiveness impacts both communities and individuals. There are no easy answers or unrealistic resolutions suggested here and the result is a novel which paints an honest picture of fallible people shaped by circumstances often beyond their control, searching for their truths and a feeling of belonging. A dark, perceptive and moving read.
Dirt will be published by Orenda Books on 19th January 2023 and can be purchased from their website or from bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones and Amazon but please support independent retailers whenever possible.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, and a number of Royal Television Society gongs. As passionate about fiction as nonfiction, she recently completed a Masters of Studies in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge, adding to an undergraduate language degree in French and Spanish, and Masters of Philosophy in History, Film and Television. When not reading or writing she can usually be found somewhere outside, either running, swimming or throwing a ball for her three children and dog while she imagines what might happen if… Sarah lives in London with her family.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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