"Reads devastatingly true...A novel that resists offering a false sense of hope in the face of conflict." – New York Times Book Review
"Intersecting lives in modern-day Israel and Palestine overlap in a tapestry of tales in this compelling, rich novel that delves into universal themes of homeland, freedom, and true security." – GMA.com Best Books
"Sacks deftly zooms in on the perspectives of a broad cast of characters...She reveals with startling intimacy what it's like to live in the center of one of the world's most divisive conflicts." – Real Simple Top Picks
"An American novel manages, for once, to get Israel right...I loved it. By the end of the novel, I was emotionally exhausted but also deeply appreciative of the care and nuance on every page, and the plot's purposeful irresolution." – Los Angeles Times
"Employs a large cast of characters with interwoven stories that represent the many ideologies and truths at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As these characters fight for the future they believe in, a common humanity reveals itself in heart-wrenching ways." – Elle Magazine Best Books of 2021
"A novel of panoramic ambition, scope and complexity . . . whose characters can never entirely escape the undertow of the region's conflicts, which shape their most intimate interactions. Sacks writes with a generosity and gentleness at odds with her troubling subject matter. . . . It is thrilling is to see how cleverly she fits the puzzle pieces of her narrative together, linking all those lives with far fewer than six degrees of separation between them." – Jewish Forward
"Ambitious and expansive. . . . A poignant humanizing of the story as characters battle for security and dignity...But there is beauty, too, the beauty we all deserve to have–in matters of family or love or marriage." – Texas Public Radio
"A stunning first novel . . . imbued with foreboding at every turn. . . . Through her vibrant characters, Sacks paints a moving and powerful portrait of those who love the region passionately despite its many tensions and dangers." – Booklist (starred review)
"In her enthralling kaleidoscope of a first novel, Rebecca Sacks coldly, hotly, deftly, examines the violence that can underpin solidarity, and the vice grip of history on our present. CITY OF A THOUSAND GATES reminded me what fiction can do that ideology and religion cannot: Show us our paradoxes." – Danzy Senna
"This beautiful novel manages to inhabit the experience of multiple characters across the Israel/Palestine divide. It is fascinating, compelling, and propulsive, building to a conclusion that is as inevitable as it is shocking." – Ayelet Waldman