The Heart of the Circle

Well, this was... curious. A really interesting read, with an interesting and unique magic system, but I'm going to have to think about it a bit more, read some reviews, talk to my friend who lives in Tel Aviv, and then sort of mull it over...

I liked the characters and the magic system, but it just didn't make sense to me in a lot of places - I don't know if it's me, the translation, or the book in general. Their idea of pacifism doesn't really square up with my idea of pacifism. And the ending was probably the most confusing part.

It's an allegory for oppression, set in Israel and this could have been very powerful, but I think the execution let it down (for me, at least, until I get some more clarity!). There was also some bi-phobic moments; maybe they were accidental, or I'm being supersensitive but the male MC meets an ex in the first few chapters who is now going out with a girl, and makes the comment: 'maybe there’s hope for us yet finding out we were always attracted to women.' That doesn't sit well with me. As a book supposed to be about equal rights for all... was this a translation issue? It doesn't seem like it...

I'd like to read some more books by Israeli authors (in translation, I don't speak/read Hebrew!), particularly in the fantasy genre. Is this normal for Israeli-written fantasy? I don't want to judge by one book.