Martyrs' Crossing (1-49)

Martyrs' Crossing by Amy Wilentz is an intriguing fictional story set in modern day Israel.  The book provides intresting viewpoints from both sides of the conflict, both Israeli and Palestinian, that reveal the effect politics have on everyday life in the area. Currently in the story, the border to Jerusalem is closed due to a pair of suicide bombings earlier in the day; checkpoints aren't allowing anyone into the city, no exceptions. A small boy close to death, named Ibrahim, is among the mob forming around the border. His mother, Marina tries desperately to get her son inside the city to the medical care he needs. Unfortunately, the guard at the checkpoint lets them through too late. A passage that moved me takes place when the boy's grandfather, George, allows his mind to wander at his grandson's funeral:

Why did the time after death seem so different from the time before birth? You've already managed not to exist quite nicely during the one, he thought. You'll probably get through the other. You couldn't say that one black period was longer than the other, or qualitatively better or worse. But having been alive, you felt somehow a morbid nostalgia for living when it came to flinging the mind forward into the grave. History-dinosaurs, wars, harvest festivals, trilobites, druids, plagues diplomacy, droughts, music, and the like, worms, snails, and starfish-came before birth, full of facts and events. Eternity, empty and blank and possibly unpleasant, came after. (49)

This thought-provoking excerpt interested me for two reasons. Firstly, the question it proposes sheds light on typical human response to loss, why are we so terrified of death? The answer will vary based on a person's religious and philosophical beliefs or lack thereof, it forces you to analyze the way you think. Taken in the context of the story, this passage is incredibly moving.

The second reason I chose this excerpt, is to analyze how the author, Amy Wlentz, decided to write this passage, and the book in general. The setting of Martyrs' Crossing is a hotbed of religion, the book reflects this, jumping from narrator to narrator, from religion to religion. This style allows the reader to see the reasoning behind the actions taken by both sides. The afterlife is a very religious topic, because of this, it may seem odd that Wilentz chose to write this passage from an almost areligious point of view. However if you take the aim of the book into consideration, her reasoning is sound. Martyrs' Crossing attempts to have an equal impact on readers, regardless of their beliefs. This goal is accomplished when religion is taken almost completely out of  the passage. It will be just as effective in delivering it's message to all people.

Wilentz, Amy. Martyrs' Crossing. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.