The Extras

The characters in this morally ambiguous, authentically detailed story, set in present-day Israel, could have stepped from the pages of le Carre. Failed architect Ezra Brenner, an alcoholic, reports to his Uncle Aharon, a member of the Israeli Secret Police. Maryam Halim, an embittered Arab who grew up with Ezra, reports to Riad, Aharon's PLO counterpart. Deddy Gur, a one-armed veteran, leads Breira, a movement dedicated to Arab-Israeli peace. Aharon and Riad, and their employers, want vengeance, not peace. Ezra and Maryam, reunited as extras on a Holy Land movie set, want only each other, but they are trapped in the maelstrom of politics and history. Karlin ( Lost Armies ) overwrites occasionally, and his similes mask, rather than enhance, sturdy images. But despite flawed artifice, a blunt, angry truth comes through. This is a chilling and effective story about the corruption of a country occupying territory by force. (Oct.)