A Terrible Case of Beauty

"In 'A Terrible Case of Beauty, ' Lynn Cohen takes on one of the most charged geo-political issues of our time and forces us to experience it with compassion. Her richly imagined characters intertwine in a riveting drama about boundaries, identity, loyalty, and love. Shading with gray what is too often spoken about in black and white terms, Cohen vividly and fearlessly takes us into the hearts and minds of people on different sides of the Israel-Palestine "question..."." Leslie Schwartz, author of "Jumping the Green" and "Angels Crest." "Lynn Cohen manages what politicians seem to find it so impossibly difficult to do - she imagines the experience of "the other." Skillfully, tenderly she renders the infinitely perplexing and sorrowful occupation, the complicated struggle for justice in Palestine/Israel into particular human size and scale. "What he dreams about is becoming someone else entirely" (p. 25) -- in some ways, all her characters do, or need to... Through chapters rich with intricate, careful details, haunting encounters, and, a wide range of compelling conversations, Cohen shapes new possibilities for consideration and understanding." Naomi Shihab Nye, poet, novelist, and songwriter. ..".bursts all the usual neat clichés on the Palestino-Israeli conflict. In her picturesque language, Cohen paints vivid pictures of complex human beings and life that turn the straightforward categorizations on their head... nothing is as perceived and expected." Alon Serper, psychologist and educator. Published by Trébol Press www.trebolpress.com