The novel is narrated by an Israeli reserve soldier, literature teacher and academic whom his army friends call Harush. From the opening pages, he warns the reader that what follows may make him sound insane. He explicitly compares his project to Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five: war, he argues, may be as unstoppable as a glacier, but […]
The book is a nonlinear, intensely personal family narrative told by Yaron Ashkenazi, who tries to reconstruct the life of his father, Haim Yosef Ashkenazi, and the damage that Haim inflicted on everyone closest to him. The chronology constantly jumps between Yaron’s childhood, his father’s criminal trial, his mother’s later illness and death, and a […]
The novel centres on Dafna Shamir, a veteran Hebrew-language and composition teacher in Rishon LeZion who, at around sixty-three, has reached what ought to be the triumphant culmination of her career. She is on sabbatical, recently divorced from her husband Ra’anan after decades of marriage, and has just been selected as “Israel’s Teacher,” a heavily […]
The Wrong Book is a sharp comic novel about literature, motherhood, marriage, politics, shame, genre, success and the lies people tell in order to preserve an image of themselves. Its heroine is Rona Glazer-Galanti, a woman in her thirties who once seemed to have literary promise. Years earlier she wrote a short story called “Plaque,” […]
The novel begins with Keren Idan’s unexpected success. She records a casual cover of the song “All In” with a guitarist visiting London. The video goes viral, reaching millions of views and leading to a contract with a British indie label. Wealthy couples begin paying large sums for Keren to sing the song at their […]
Noa Simon is an aspiring filmmaker who meets businessmen Richard Harrington and Teddy Rosenfeld, both in their 50s, at her friend’s wedding. They are impressed with her filmmaking skills and offer to recommend her for a job as the head of media at their company, Oceanna. There is clear sexual tension between Noa and Teddy […]
We delve into the life and career of Liat Knoller, a seasoned political reporter based in Tel Aviv. Liat’s narrative centers around the enigmatic political figure Lana Bitton and the significant role she played in Lana’s tumultuous journey. Lana, an individual celebrated for her public persona, is likened to an Israeli Malcom X, a leader […]
by Shira Carmi One night, Diana becomes convinced that David, a psychoanalyst and her husband of nineteen years, is having an affair. He receives a phone call on a Friday evening from an unknown woman and proceeds to have a private conversation with her in French. Told in first person from Diana’s point of view, […]