The paths of two women from different generations cross in this nuanced, heartfelt novel that explores the early days of Israel and its uncertain future.
Following the death of her father, Atara attempts to retrace the footsteps of the wife of his youth, who fought beside him in the underground prior to the founding of the State of Israel. Their encounter upends her life and the life of her family, sparking an uncontrollable cascade of dramatic events.
As the past is brought to light, it illuminates but also casts a pall on the present and the future, confronting each character with questions of fate, control, responsibility, faith, disappointment, and love.
Autorentext
Zeruya Shalev was born at Kibbutz Kinneret. She is the author of five previous novels, The Remains of Love, Love Life, Husband and Wife, Thera, and Pain (Other Press, 2019) and a book of poetry and two children's books. Her work has been translated into twenty-seven languages and won multiple awards, including the Corine International Book Prize, the Welt Literature Award, and the Prix Femina étranger.
Joanna Chen is a writer and literary translator from Hebrew to English whose translations include Agi Mishol's Less Like a Dove, Yonatan Berg's Frayed Light (finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards), and Meir Shalev's My Wild Garden. Her own poetry and writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books Blog, Mantis, Poet Lore, Consequence, and Narratively. She teaches literary translation at the Helicon School of Poetry in Tel Aviv.