Savyon Liebrecht

The only problem with starting this book from the beginning was that I liked the first two stories the best. That was rough because it made the remaining stories a bit less appealing. I only mean that in the smallest sense, though, as each of Liebrecht's stories is amazingly unique, complex for it length, and psychologically engaging. Each tells of a different Israeli character, with the exception of two non-adjacent stories describing the same person, in a different venue with the final one show more being an apocalyptic place of no name.

In "America", six-year-old Hadassah is left with her father after her mother meets a man in a sewing class and runs away with him and his infant daughter to America. Hadassah watches later as her dad receives letters from America, but sees him become increasingly depressed when his wife does not return. On a whim, Hadassah becomes friends with the man's deserted wife who remains alone in Israel.

My favorite story was the rather dark tale called "Kibbutz" This is the story of Melech (Hebrew word for "king"), a boy whose parents died when he was three years old. He is taken in by the kibbutz nurse Devorah who raises him along with her own two daughters. When grown and a soldier, Melech returns to the kibbutz to request that Devorah repeat one more time the story of his childhood and his parents.

All of the stories in this collection are of people who are seeking connection with others or experiencing the loss of that interpersonal connection. Sometimes what we see in other people isn't what's really there. How this plays out among the characters in this book makes for superb reading. show less

This is an interesting collection of literary short stories by Savyon Liebrecht, Israeli feminist writer, and daughter of a Holocaust survivor. The stories are subtle, nuanced and expose the reader to varied and unusual slices of life. While I admired the writing and the finely drawn characterizations, I found many of the stories depressing though very well done.

This is a wonderful book of short stories which contradicts the sterotypical picture of Israelis so often portrayed in the nightly news. It shows (mostly from the female point of view) the nuances of many types of Israelis, from religious to secular, from Ashkenazi to Sephardic, from Arab to Jew. In particular, it brings out the human side of each of its characters and demonstrates that feelings change from time to time and situation to situation. These are beautiful studies of human show more interaction.

I have four favorite stories.

In “A Room on the Roof”, a woman’s husband goes to Texas, and she decides to build a new room on the second story of her home while he’s gone. Her Jewish contractor leaves her alone with three Arab laborers during the construction process. She is not sure to how to react to their presence near and in her home.

“The Road to Cedar City” tells of an Israeli couple (Hassida and Yehiel) and their son Yuval who are traveling in the United States when their rented car breaks down. The wife is unhappy when she learns that she must share a ride in a minivan with another young Israeli couple and their baby who are from Jerusalem. A talkative minivan driver further complicates matters by running his mouth during the entire trip.

“Mother’s Photo Album” is about a Dr. Joshua Hoshen who looks into his mother’s medical record after she is hospitalized in a mental institution. He pieces together her life from what he reads in her record and uses a photograph to help resolve his anguish about what he discovers.

A most notable story is “The Homesick Scientist” in which eldery Zerubavel welcomes his nephew, a well-known Israeli scientist who lives in the United States, as he returns to visit Israel after 21 years. His nephew had frequently spent summers with Zerubavel after Zerubavel’s own son Uri had been killed while on reserve duty. Zerubavel, although he had eagerly anticipated his nephew’s visit, isn’t sure what his nephew’s motives were for returning after such a long absence. show less

It's obvious that Liebrecht is primarily a short story-writer. Her novel reads like a very long short story rather than a novel; every little item carries some meaning and although it's fantastically well written, it makes for a very slow read. Make sure to read this when there is time to ponder every detail in the novel and you'll be rewarded with a psychologically intense and heartfelt tale about a woman's way of dealing with the loss of her mother's mind and the upheaval in her own life.