Dirt by Sarah Sultoon
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 starts to realise just how far some people will go to belong...
About the author
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. Of Jewish and Indian descent, 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. 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... Her debut thriller The Source is currently in production with Lime Pictures, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger, won the Crime Fiction Lover Debut Thriller Award, was a Capital Crime Book Club pick and a number-one bestseller on Kindle.
Review
‘Dirt’ is a powerful look at the tensions on a kibbutz at the Israel and Lebanon border in the aftermath of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. It's a complex tale full of political intrigue, complex characters, family secrets and a murder mystery at its heart. It's a book that isn't afraid to pull punches, both haymakers but also ones to your solar plexus that render you unable to function. As we have seen in her previous books Sarah Sultoon has the ability to discuss powerful and emotive topics in such a way that you find it unable to walk away from her books. You become engrossed, involved, and intrinsically intertwined with the characters and again you will find this with ‘Dirt’.
‘Dirt’ follows two characters Lola and Jonny over 48 hours. Lola is a volunteer working on the kibbutz in the banana fields. She is a troubled young woman from London who has travelled to the kibbutz to escape her past and live a far less complicated life. Up at dawn to work in the fields, communal meals and time spent around a bonfire with the other volunteers at night. But there is the ever-threatening presence of the political situation - rockets are liable to fly over at any point, and air raid sirens and shelters are a part of everyday life. One that is becoming frequent as the tensions between the two countries heighten. Jonny Murphy is a young cub reporter at the International Tribune. A young man hailing from the UK but with an Israeli mother, therefore he has his own reasons to be living in Jerusalem. But when a source gives him a tip that a kibbutz worker has been found dead he is determined to go up there and delve into the story and when it takes a drastic turn he soon realises that this discovery could have a major impact on the conflict raging around them all.
Out of the two main characters I found myself more drawn to Jonny than I did to Lola. However, Lola has the more powerful and heart-wrenching narrative out of the two. ‘The’ scenes in the banana fields and the beach were one of the solar plexus moments I was talking about above. They were relatable, horrific and devastating and something that I will remember for quite a while. But still, I couldn't warm to her as I felt duplicity radiating off her. I had sympathy but that's about it and I feel that this was an objective that the author has maybe put in place to counterbalance the sheer charming and likeable nature of Jonny. Ying and Yang so they say. Jonny was instantly likeable at that food stand and it continued throughout despite what his character goes through. He has the determination to uncover the truth of what is happening at the kibbutz but that determination intertwines with his wanting to belong somewhere. Something that Lola is also wanting. And that is one of the beautiful strands of this book is that despite the raging political situation it's really about personal aspirations of finding a home. Finding and understanding themselves. I can't remember who said it now in the book (maybe it was Tom?) but he said until you live at the edge of the world you can't understand the world and yourself. I think this sums up this book.
The last book I read by Sarah devastated me (in a good way) and I am still haunted by it. ‘Dirt’ is slightly more subtle about its hard-hitting(ness), despite its thriller and high-paced action sections underground. It's a book based on the complexity of personalities rather than humanity. Yes, they are used as a filter to reflect tensions in the area but you could have lifted the two main characters into a different area and have the same outcome, say Northern Ireland in the Troubles or on the Mexican US border. But what makes this book is the character's authenticity, their complex backgrounds and the exquisite way they have been written. However, despite what I said about location earlier, its placement here is a reflection on the author's history of working in journalism and it makes the setting ring true. Once again I'm in awe of the books that Sarah can write and I am eagerly awaiting what comes next!
Let me know if you read this one!
