Book Review: A Vision of Angels by Timothy Jay Smith

A Vision of Angels by Timothy Jay Smith

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

 

 

A Vision of Angels by Timothy Jay Smith is a tragic and suspenseful tale that revolves around a planned terrorist attack for Easter Sunday in Jerusalem. The lives of an American journalist, Israeli war hero, Palestinian farmer and Christian grocer are weaved together and changed forever as a result of this single event that is set to take place amidst the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

It is a story that moves at a fast pace and switches between perspectives of the characters just as quickly. The destruction, desolation and desperation caused by the conflict is at times brutally confronting, but gives the story an underlying human perspective that is too often missed in modern media reporting.

Smith does well to give all sides involved in the conflict a voice, and I found it a particularly interesting read in the sense that it gave new perspective to an old war. However, whilst the nature of the conflict itself kept me interested enough to continue reading, I found it impossible to either like or relate to any of the characters in the story. Whilst they are all dynamic, complicated characters for whom I felt empathy or a general disdain for, I couldn't connect with them in such a way that made me feel invested in their stories. For this reason, it was merely the conflict itself and not the stories of the individual characters taking place within it that gained and held my attention.

Overall, A Vision of Angels is an interesting yet confronting depiction of the ways in which conflict can tear a nation apart and yet bring it together at the same time.

 

Recommended to readers of contemporary fiction and those with a particular interest in current world politics.

Thank you to the author for inviting me to read and review this novel.

 

 

View all my reviews

If you knew what your meat went through, would you still be able to eat it?

Perhaps you saw the 4-Corners expose on Australian live export to Indonesia on Monday night, perhaps you did not, and although I wouldn't normally make politically-orientated posts on my blog, when it comes to animal welfare I will make an exception. 

Animal welfare is a topic that I have felt very strongly about for a long time. In 2002 I made the decision to become vegetarian, and two years ago I wrote a post here on my blog about why I feel so strongly about vegetarianism. Having seen first-hand how some so-called "farmers" treat their livestock, I find the whole idea of animal trade cruel.

  

If you want to know more about Australia's live exports, and in turn the 4-Corners expose, you can do so here. There is also the option of sending your local Member of Parliament a letter demanding the immediate ban of all live exports. If you are outside Australia, perhaps it is time to consider your own country's policy on live exports? You could always send your local politican a letter requesting the same if you're not happy with the standards.

I believe the way that we, as humans, treat animals is a reflection of our true selves. It's about time that we took action against the manner in which animals are bred, modified, force-fed, cage-kept, poorly treated and killed in mass-slaughter in order to meet our excessive, consumerist demands. No more excuses: It's just plain wrong and it makes us all bad people.

"If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty." - Sir Paul McCartney

Have you seen the ad everyone is talking about?

I dont usually upload political spin here, but we have a Federal election campaign in full swing and voting takes place this Saturday (although this little politics-nerd has already voted). This advert was aired on Gruen Nation last Wednesday, 11 August, as part of their segment 'The Pitch', and since then the advertising company who produced it has granted permission for The Greens to use it. However, the ABC have been unable to permit The Greens to show it on television, although it can be shared online.

After suffering the barrage of terribly awful election campaign adverts from the other political parties and their cronies for the past month, this non-ad for The Greens is a breath of fresh air.

Why do I like this ad? --> I like it because it doesnt make an attack on any other political party or politician. Rather, it appeals to people's sensibilities by simply showing what The Greens are about. It's emotive and it's clever. It'd be nice if all election campaign ads were the same.

Happy voting, fellow Aussies!