The double core of "The Caravan Passes" is this: Is the murder of a tyrant justifiable and what kind of a man should a real man be? Mr. Tabori divides his work into two parts, one: "The Question"; two, "The Answer."…

"The Answer," unfortunately, is not the answer to the question of part one at all. Instead it is an heroic portrait of a messianic man, the kind of man Varga should be but is not….

Part two is a re-examination of the same events as part one, this time with Marouf replacing Varga at the helm…. Marouf is never asked "the question," and since Varga answered it only in a negative fashion, this novel's moral dilemma is still left hanging at the end. Thus Mr. Tabori splits his creative core and the reader's interest is left unfulfilled.

A more vital flaw perhaps, is that the conflict within...