Early Reviewers

In a small Lebanese village in 1931, Joseph Friedmann is born to a 15-year-old girl married off to a man thirty years her senior.

His parents divorce, and at the age of eight, Joseph is sent to be raised in a Catholic convent. There he experiences anti-Semitism, betrayal, and a deep trauma he cannot bring himself to name. He falls in love with Isabella, a nun-in-training, but this too turns to heartbreak.

Joseph sets out on foot toward Palestine, where he takes part in Israel's 1948 War of Independence. He has finally found a home. But his new country sends him back to Lebanon as an Israeli spy. After twenty years undercover, he completes one final, decisive operation. Now Joseph faces a choice: escape to safety in Israel, or attempt to lay claim to his future by confronting the past — the mother who forsook him; the abbess who abused him; the lover who deserted him.

Written in vivid prose, The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb weaves a deeply personal story of trauma, survival, and identity into the complex reality of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It reminds us of the historical imperatives leading to the founding of the State of Israel and recognizes the pain and longing experienced by its Arab citizens and neighbors.