Some of these tangents can be tenuous and fleeting, while others form the key aspects of the complex woven fabric that is this novel. It seems to “jump” from one thought to the next, the new idea prompted by an aspect of the previous one. The novel’s structure is unusual, in some ways resembling the workings of the restless mind. Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan met through the organization Combatants for Peace, who state: “Our Ultimate Goal is to end the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders two states living side by side in peace and cooperation or any other just solution agreed upon in negotiations.” McCann tells the true story of Palestinian Bassam Aramin and Israeli Rami Elhanan, and their daughters: Abir Aramin, age 10, killed by a rubber bullet in 2007 and Smadar Elhanan, age 13, killed by suicide bombers in 1997.
And yet, at its core is the undisputed fact that the State of Israel is guilty of sustained human rights abuse against the people of Palestine.
The title of McCann’s 2020 novel gives the reader an indication of the innumerable facets that form this novel. Unlike a pentagon, an apeirogon has an infinite number of sides, or aspects. In the context of the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East and Ireland’s condemnation of Israel’s de-facto annexation policy, Apeirogon by Colum McCann is worth reading more than ever.
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