Synopses & Reviews
Hemda Horovitz is nearing the end of her life. As she lies in bed in Jerusalem, memories from the past flood her thoughts: her childhood in the kibbutz spent under the gaze of her stern, pioneer father; the lake that was her only solace; and her own two children — one she could never love enough, and the other whom she loved too much.
Avner, the beloved child, has grown up to be a heavy, anguished man, disillusioned by his work and trapped in a loveless marriage. When visiting his mother in the hospital, he witnesses a devoted couples final moments together; after the mans death Avner becomes obsessed with finding the woman, and a strange and delicate relationship unfolds.
Dina, Hemda's daughter, has put aside her career in order to give her teenage daughter, Nitzan, the warmth she never received from her own mother. But Nitzan is withdrawing from her, and Dina is overcome by a longing to adopt another child — a longing that, if fulfilled, may destroy her fragile family.
Zeruya Shalev's electrifying new novel is at once a meditation on the state of modern Israel and a profound exploration of family, yearning, compromise, and the insistent pull of the past.
Review
“An acute and profound statement....One of the most powerful novels I have read in recent years.” Amos Oz
About the Author
Zeruya Shalev was born at Kibbutz Kinneret. She is the author of three previous novels, Love Life, Husband and Wife, and Thera; a book of poetry; and a childrens book. Her work is critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling. Shalev has been awarded the Book Publishers Association's Gold and Platinum Prizes four times, the Corine International Book Prize (Germany, 2001), the Amphi Award (France, 2003), the ACUM Prize twice (1997, 2005), the French Wizo Prize (2007), the prestigious Welt-Literature Award (2012) and The Remains of Love is a finalist of the Bottary Lattes Grinzane Prize (Italy, 2013). Husband and Wife was also nominated for the Femina Prize (France, 2002). A feature film of Love Life, produced in Germany, was released in 2008. Her books have been translated into twenty-five languages. She lives in Jerusalem.
Philip Simpson's Hebrew to English translations include The Lover by A. B. Yehoshua and Where the Jackals Howl by Amos Oz. He lives in Norfolk, England.