The Human Scale is a thought-provoking read, combining real world events with a mystery. It's a timely story, ending with the Hamas attack in 2023. It's a difficult book to read but is it worth the time, especially if you are trying to understand the conflict in the Middle East.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my review copy.

Wow! A story that comes right from the headlines. A beautiful tragic story of current Israel and the characters are real and touch your heart. I have a deeper understanding of what really happens there. The characters are true to life and funny and sad. The end will blow you away. I will be searching this authors other books and look for any new ones he writes. An excellent read!

If I could make a narrower distinction of historical fiction, I’d label this book “near historical fiction”. The book ends with the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Never having read this author before, perhaps I was unprepared for my fiction to be lost in the weeds at times by receiving expositions on the history of the conflict. The author veered back to the story at the last 10% as my eyes were starting to glaze over by the historical push and pull narrative of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Having lived in the region for 13 years, including through October 7th and its aftermath, much of this book felt familiar, and spot-on. The grief and urge to escape through violence or fanaticism or a festival in the south. While I thought this was extremely well done, it did feel over-didactic at times, particularly when the author's history lessons or analysis stifled the characters' voices. I wish they had been the only ones to do the storytelling, even if some details were lost in the process. Also, two small errors that threw me off: 1) Uber isn't very popular in Israel/Palestine, better to say "Gett Taxi" or just "taxi." 2) An Israeli wouldn't name their dog "babka" because the cake is known as "Krantz" here.

The Human Scale
By Lawrence Write

This is a horror story. Oh, not of the Stephen King variety. No this is a horror story based in truth. It is the story of the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Tony Malek is an American FBI agent, who has been severely damaged by a bomb during a case and is now trying to get reinstated as a field agent. After being dumped by his girlfriend, Tony decides to spend his time investigating just who he is and where he comes from.

Tony's deceased father Tariq had emigrated from Hebron in Palestine, but never talked about his past or his family. Tony is aware that his father had a twin brother Abdullah. While looking for him online, Tony discovers that Abdullah's daughter Dina is to be married in October 2023, just a month away. He decides this is an opportunity to get to know his family. When he tells his boss he is going, Tommy asks him to check out a call for help from a police chief in the area. Seems like a simple ask, right?

When Tony arrives in Palestine, everything goes south in a hurry. The police chief has been murdered. The bridegroom, a Palestinian who works for peace instead of violence, is accused of the crime and goes on the run. But nothing is that simple.

Malek is dragged into all the drama between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He witnesses the depredations which both sides employ to kill any chance for peace by ratcheting up the violence. Malek finds himself working with Yossi, an Israeli policeman, to solve the murder and lower the level of violence. But in the end, the long years of hatred and feelings of being victimized prove too strong.

This is a book which we all should read if we want to really understand the Middle East. It is a story to cry over. We would all wish for something better, but is that even possible? The saddest part of this ongoing story is that many believe that the Palestinians and Jews are both descended from the same people.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Tony Malik is an FBI agent who’s been out of the field for a year after surviving a bombing. Recovering from a traumatic brain injury, his life a mess, he decides to attend a cousin’s wedding in Hebron. Soon after arriving, the Jewish police chief is murdered and Malik is a suspect. Once cleared, he joins forces with a Jewish police officer to solve the murder.

The murder and its resolution are the framework for a story that takes us deep into the communities, minds and motivations of all sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict, with just enough history to help readers understand the source of the conflict. The author is sympathetic to both sides of the conflict and is frustrated by extremists who insist on extermination of the other side and thus keep peace at bay.

I like books that entertain me while making me think. I want to learn more about the world, about other cultures. I want to understand why people do what they do. This book ticks all those boxes for me and I’ll be looking into Lawrence Wright’s other work.

Thanks to #NetGalley and @AAKnopf for a free review copy in exchange for this honest review.

Did not like the story and did not like the writing style.
Would not recommend this story as I was not the recommended target

“The Human Scale” felt like a novel ripped from the headlines of the Israeli-Hamas war. Yossi, a Jewish man in law enforcement, and Malik, an Muslim FBI agent on leave after having survived a bomb blast, are paired throughout the story. Their goal is to find out who killed Yossi’s boss but other critical situations arise.

The story was so well-written, although the back-and-forth hostilities were so hard to read about. Author Lawrence Wright has spent much of his life in the Middle East and I have confidence that he has written “The Human Scale” based on his true impressions.

I believe I learned something about Israel and the surrounding area from reading this book. I recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advance copy. This is my honest review.

As promised, this is a murder mystery wrapped up in a conflict that has lasted centuries. The author was able to provide background and information about a topic many of us know only superficially while giving us an interesting novel with rich characters and realistic plot points. A great book; definitely worth reading.

For once, you can honestly say this is a story "ripped from the headlines:. Set in the West Bank territory in the Middle East in the days leading up to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, Wright describes the hopeless treadmill of violence and escalation between Israel and Palestine, interweaving history and politics into a fast paced story of the people caught up in the bloody whirlwind. Wright is one our best journalists and has written extensively on the Middle East, but it also turns out he can write a compelling thriller.

This novel got off to a slow start for me. I was expecting a thriller but I feel it is more of a book concentrating on the history and current relationships of the Israel Palestine complex. The plot often slowed with additional background information provided. For someone who has not paid attention to the area, this might be an enlightening book. Wright does a good job of building the characters so we understand the intense feelings and relationships. While there is a murder, it seems to be a means to an end, getting characters together who would not otherwise do so. This is a novel for readers looking to gain understanding of the situation in that part of the Middle East before the latest escalation of deadly action. It is not a novel for those looking for an engaging thriller.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Tony Malik is an FBI agent visiting Palestine to attend a wedding and to meet relatives from his father’s side of the family. Soon after Malik arrives, an Israeli police chief, who had reached out for FBI assistance, is murdered. Malik and an Israeli cop investigate the murder.

The mystery of the murder is really tangential to the actual point of this book. Malik, as an outsider, serves as a device for introducing the reader to the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He also comes into contact with people from both sides of the conflict, and thus exposes the reader to varying points of view. I found the book interesting, but I might have preferred it as nonfiction.

The author’s frustration with the situation is summed up in the Acknowledgements:

“One cannot hope for an end to the strife without acknowledging the separate histories that each side claims.”

“… whenever a real opportunity for a breakthrough arises it is incinerated by the killers who cling to the fantasy that their enemies can be ethnically cleansed or exterminated.”

“ Until the extremists and ideologues are pushed out of power, the conversation about moving on from the conflict will always be stillborn.”

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Tony Malik, an FBI agent from a Palestinian American family is grievously injured as a demolitions crew attempts to deactivate a bomb identified in an airport suitcase. He awakes with a traumatic brain injury and puzzling and infuriating momentary lapses in short term memory.
The Bureau keeps him on staff, and in an attempt to give him something harmless but intriguing to do, sends him to Hebron in Israel in response to an oddly worded request from a local policeman.
Malik arrives to find that the cop has been murdered, and a wide and wild collection of blame, finger pointing, confusion, and hostility is hampering the investigation into the death.
As a parallel to the Israeli cops, Malik meets his father's uncle and a wide collection of other relatives. The family is preparing for a wedding, and Malik is welcomed and warmly included in early celebrations.
The novel focuses on the search for the murderer and the enigmatic notes left by the murdered cop. Malik realizes there is more at stake than meets the eye. And a careful attention to chapter headings gives the reader important clues about the overall situation in real life Israel at the time of the fictional events
The author includes a great deal of historical and present day information about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. At times these non fictional interludes tend to disrupt reading of the flow of action as the investigations continue.
Thanks to Alfred A Knopf and NetGalley for the advance copy and the opportunity to review

From the opening paragraph, I was gripped by timely piece.
Lawrence Wright is an amazing writer!
I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

I told myself I couldn't add any additional books to my TBR pile but then I came across The Human Scale and just couldn't resist its description. That's how I found myself reading this book, and WOW, I am not disappointed! I understand the controversy surrounding the book as people tend to have strong feelings about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, but I found the book compelling. It's a fictional account, meant to provoke thought and, perhaps, help readers consider alternate theories and beliefs. For me, I was intrigued by this concept and I allowed the book to move me in this way. I didn't feel the author was trying to steer me toward one set of feelings or beliefs over another. Rather, the book simply introduced characters and conflicts from a human perspective and allowed everyone to be looked at through a lens of humanity. An enjoyable read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a fictional account of murder, which murder mysteries are a new genre for Lawrence Wright. I have read most of his nonfiction work and he does meticulous research for his books. My only complaint is this a long book, and it takes some dedication to stay with the story

Showing the Arab/Israeli conflicts and similarities between them, The Human Scale introduces us to Tony Malik, an Arab American FBI agent who is recovering from a terrorist attack and in Israel to attend a family wedding and to Yossi Ben-Gal, an Israeli police officer dealing with the violent death of his police chief Joseph Weingarten in Hebron on the West Bank. Malik is drawn in to help Yossi investigate the murder and the story takes us through much of the violence and hatred that led up to October 7th. Both compelling and disturbing, this book shares the mindset of both men and how they work their way through things. I want to thank NetGalley, Knopf Publishing and Lawrence Wright for the opportunity to read a compelling book both disturbing and thought provoking.

In a land torn apart by ideology can either side live without enemies?

FBI agent Tony Malik is the sole survivor of a bomb explosion in Jordan that has left him with multiple injuries: one functional eye and a traumatic brain injury that has left him with inconsistent memory are the ones that are most threatening his ability to return to his job. His superiors would just as soon he opt for early retirement with full disability benefits, but Tony desperately wants to stay on and is downplaying the extent of his problems. His girlfriend has left him, he has no immediate family left...the job is what he thinks will provide his motivation to go on. With plenty of time on his hands while decisions about his future are being made, Tony starts looking into his late father's history (about which he knows little and has never explored) and discovers that not only is his father's twin brother still alive back in Hebron, he has a daughter about to marry. Tony decides to contact the family he has never met and travel to the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory to attend the wedding. When he visits his boss in an attempt to signal his return to work the response is tepid, but when he mentions his plan to visit Gaza his boss asks him to do the agency an unofficial favor (which, he hints, could help Tony's prospects at the FBI). A local police chief there has reached out to the FBI with concerns, and Tony is tasked with making contact with the man. Shortly after Tony does so, the police chief is brutally murdered and Tony finds himself caught up in the aftermath of the killing. On top of the ever-present tensions between the Israeli settlers looking to lay claim to more land for their people and the Arabs who have long lived there, there is a powerful rabbi who believes that the entirety of the West Bank (and beyond) belongs to the Jewish people and should be purged of all Arabs, the rivalry over control which exists between the local police, the IDF, Shin Bet and the Palestinian police, and the opposing views amongst the citizens of what Israel's future should hold. Tony and Yossi, the man who is now in charge of the local police, reluctantly join forces to search for the chief's killer as the calendar approaches what will prove to be a fateful date....October 7, 2023.
The Human Scale is both an old school thriller and a fascinating look at the cultural divide that exists as it has existed for decades between the Israeli and Palestinian people. The horrific events of October 7 did not unfold in a vacuum, and those interested in learning more about the conditions that led up to that terrible day will find much to explore here. Author Lawrence Wright, who as a journalist has covered the Middle East, has created a rich assortment of well-developed characters who together tell the story of a region that has been dominated by much animosity and conflict for generations. The flow of the story is at times dragged down by the sheer amount of factual data that in interwoven with the plot, but at the same time those facts add much to the quality of the read. There are weighty themes within these pages as well as relatively even-handed historical analysis; it is by no means an escapist thriller, and readers' knowledge of what will transpire on October 7 contributes to the emotional impact as the story heads towards that dark day. Readers of authors like Don DeLillo, Daniel Silva and John Le Carré will find much to like with this novel, as did I. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me early access to this complex and informative saga in exchange for my honest review.

A political thriller that leads up to the devastating and cowardly Hamas attack on October 2023, The Human Scale provides an engaging encapsulation of history between Israel and Palestine but the very real tragedy of the deadly terminus downgrades the fictitious murder mystery from a clever whodunnit into a trite who-cares.

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright, The Human Scale builds to the fateful Hamas attack by giving the ages-long conflict a fresh viewpoint through the eyes (or in this case, eye) of American FBI Agent Tony Malik. Wright has Malik on Israeli soil following the murder of a Gaza police chief. Malik represents the consummate stranger-in-a-strange-land scenario allowing Wright the ease to bounce through history starting with biblical times to lay the foundation for the hatred of two similar peoples, while showing the relevance to present day.

This historical tug-of-war becomes a deep and enlightening read. Yet, Malik’s investigation is nearly by-the-numbers and nearly becomes trivial as the other characters Wright creates - such as Yossi Ben-Gal, the police officer leading the investigation; his daughter, Sara; Dina, a Palestinian niece Tony recently met; and her fiancé, Jamal Khelil, an Arab freedom fighter seeking peace - all add to the stronger narrative of the tribal conflict.

Alongside the historical and fictional plot lines, Wright casts both sides as impartial as possible. However, as the countdown gets closer to that fatal October deadline, that impartiality tips. Wright expertly allows the reader to personalize the measure of weight in those scales. While Wright shows both the hurt and injustice, he also displays an all-encompassing irrationality of fear and hatred - for Jew and Arab alike.

The wrapping of a murder mystery around and within the Hamas attack serves as sugar on this spoonful of medicine. Whereas Wright has an obvious knack for the historical intrigue he pulls back and tempers the flood of dates and names with the security of genre fiction. And The Human Scale is a full, attractive read. Yet, and again, the historical intrigue is where Wright shows his strength. The late-great (can’t believe I have to write that out) Nelson DeMille achieved a similar path in Night Fall, his piece of historical fiction that ties together the TWA Flight 800 conspiracy with 9/11. However, Tony Malik is no John Corey. Right?

The Human Scale is a simple story dropped into a wasteland of confusion, human stubbornness, and epic suffering. Lawrence Wright provides a master class in Middle Eastern civics and like all good teachers, breaks it down into fun-sized bites. However, the overall mystery could have equally been a full-sized treat.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the early access.

I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an homest review.

The story begins with Malik, an FBI agent, in the Middle East who is injured after the disarming of a bomb doesn't work and the bomb explodes. Jump forward to NYC when Malik has been released from the hospital and is trying to get back to work. Malik decides to go to Israel to visit for wedding of his cousin. Once he arrives all sorts of events happen with him initially being charged with a crime. After being released, he begins working with Yossi, an Israeli police investigator. He becomes in looking into the murder of the police chief.

Read along as Malik and Yossi start their investigation and learn of all the roadblocks that were put in place. Discover wgo the killer was suspected to be and how he was associated with Malik.

Discover the istory of two opposing groups who were fighting each other ans what each one believed supported their right of owning the land. Read and discover how this how ends and what event is detailed what is real at this time.

The story provides a lot of information and has you wondering why this is still going on. This story realing makes you think and draw your own conclusion.