Murder on a Kibbutz: A Communal Case

In addition to being an extremely well-plotted mystery, this is a wonderfully written piece of fiction that gives a sociological portrait of kibbutz life, opening up a tiny sector of Israeli society with a pointed lens. The contrasts between the secular, larger world of the police (who are drawn with great humor and sound very authentic) and the insular kibbutz world are quite delightful. The novel has warmth and insight. This is true literary fiction, with a definite style, and it may take a little time to immerse oneself in the world of the novel, but it is well worth it. Some of the kibbutz rules described in the novel are anachronistic, but this doesn't detract at all from one's enjoyment.

I've come to Batya Gur late in my reading life and have relished every one of her mysteries but Murder on a Kibbutz is, in my opinion, her best. In addition to enjoying the pleasures of Michael Ohayon's company, we're introduced to a wonderful cast of kibbutz characters that, like Gur's Holocaust survivors, will soon no longer exist in real life. She gets them down exactly right, along with the kibbutz dining room and holiday festivities and endless communal meetings -- she's even got the refet exactly as it is. In a patriarchal country where careers in literature are hard to come by for women, Gur carved out a unique niche of her own. I'm so sorry that she died at 57 and that there will be no further work coming from her.

I like mysteries, but this book far transcends that category. It is really a study of the ideology of the kibbutz -- the communal, socialist philosophy that the founders of this movement held. They were highly idealistic and sacrificed a lot to make it work. But the idea has proven faulty all over the world, including on the kibbutzim. Nowadays, the kibbutzim rely on a variety of capitalist businesses to stay alive. In this book, the founders can't let go of the idea even though most people there, especially younger people, don't want it. The brutality hidden behind their attachment to the ideal reminds me -- in microcosm, on a far lower level here -- of the brutality that has appeared in all socialist countries as the ideals have failed in practice. In addition to all this, it is a very good read.

Ms. Gur does an outstanding job of describing and playing out life on a Kibbutz. This is the first of its kind that I have read. The place comes alive and the crime is certainly realistic.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Kibbutz life or a good mystery.

Subtitled "A Communal Case," this novel invites to reader into the idealized world of an Israeli kibbutz, where a policeman who is an outsider must try to solve the mystery of who could have possibly killed a member of the kibbutz family. Gur interweaves lessons in social history and a social critique of the effect of bourgeois ideas on socialist ideals. I find the novel an intriguing yet relatively traditional murder mystery. Some people might get tired of the social commentary, but people who like to learn as they are entertained will like following the mystery and find the social ingredients essential to the resolution of the mystery. The book is quite suspenseful and thrilling. If you like this one, Batya Gur has others, as this one is the third in her mystery series based on the sleuth Michael Ohayon.