RaveTabletThe story openly invites comparisons to Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, but as the plot progresses, it feels more like a comedy of the absurd rather than a grand adventure story ... Modan visualizes these tunnels in the most unromantic way imaginable: They are mazes of sand and dust, with every new turn revealing sights that are depressingly similar to those seen before. Modan’s tunnels do not hold rare treasures. Rather, they contain tools of destruction to further the never-ending conflicts that take place above ground ... The novel’s ending carries the notion that all it takes is a simple crisis involving people in need to get all the novel’s warring parties to come together and help. It is a comforting subtext, but it feels a bit forced ... Other than that, however, Tunnels is a great triumph—one which deserves to be recognized as one of the best works of Israeli literature.
