Checkpoint at Borders Bookstore 15 July

bristol | media and culture | event notice Wednesday July 02, 2008 11:56 by Lisa Saffron Lisa_saffron at compuserve dot com 47 seymour road, bristol bs7 9hs 0117 985 5614

Fragile cease-fire holds in Gaza! Two rockets hit Israeli towns! If the headlines about the Middle East leave you depressed and confused, take heart from Checkpoint, the new sociopolitical suspense novel by local author, Lisa Saffron. Checkpoint is set in Israel and occupied Palestine. Two families suffer. Two communities remain divided. Two teenagers, a soldier and a suicide bomber, die. What happens when two mothers refuse to be enemies? Lisa is giving a talk in Bristol at Borders Bookstore, Clifton Promenade on Tuesday 15 July at 7pm. The talk is free. All are welcome.

“Checkpoint is a positive and hopeful novel,” explains Lisa. ”It is about the possibility of redemption, about our common humanity, the illusion of being on opposite sides and the need to listen. Visits to Israel and the occupied territories with a study tour and a Compassionate Listening delegation inspired and informed me.”

Lisa, who lives in Bishopston, belongs to the liberal-progressive synagogue and hosts a weekly programme on Radio Salaam Shalom, an internet radio station promoting Jewish-Muslim dialogue.

“Lisa Saffron’s book is both moving and powerful. Human stories convey the horror and injustice better than factual books about the Palestinian tragedy.” Tony Benn

The event is held at Borders Bookstore is at the Clifton Promenade, 45-56 Queens Road, Bristol BS8. Phone 0117 922.6959. Website www.borderslocal.co.uk/bristol/

Books are available at the discounted price of £8.95 at the talk. (Usual bookstore price is £13.65)