The One Facing Us: A Novel
by Ronit Matalon
On This Page
Description
Esther, seventeen years old, wild and rebellious, is sent from Israel to Cameroon to stay with her hardheaded uncle Sicourelle, who is charged with straightening her out. But Esther resists her uncle's plans for her future - which include marriage to a cousin - and in the privileged indolence of postcolonial Africa, she looks to the past instead. Using sepia portraits and scraps of letters, Esther pieces together the history of her family, a once-grand Egyptian-Jewish clan, and its show more displacement from Cairo in the 1950s to Israel, West Africa, and New York.As the worn photographs yield their secrets, Esther uncovers a rich tale of wives and ex-wives; revolving mistresses and crushing marriages; intrigues and disappointments; poignant contrasts between the living past and the dead present. In sensuous, inventive prose, Matalon penetrates the mysteries of cultural exile and family life to produce a first novel that is mature, authentic, and deeply moving. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Excellent. An unconventionally told story of roots and family about a Jewish family from Cairo who emigrate, first to Israel in the 1940s and then on to France, New York, and Africa. Their story is told through a series of meditations on family snapshots. It’s quite provocative in it’s way, almost a reverse diaspora where Egypt is the homeland and Israel is the place of exile.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
17+ Works 183 Members
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- De face sur la photo
- Original title
- Ze im hapaniem eleno
- Original publication date
- 1995 (1e édition originale israelienne) (1e édition originale israelienne); 2015-09 (1e traduction et édition française) (1e traduction et édition française)
- Important places*
- Ivoorkust
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 892.436 — Literature & rhetoric Asian Literature Afro-Asiatic literatures Jewish, Israeli, and Hebrew Hebrew fiction 1947–2000
- LCC
- PJ5054 .M3274 .Z3413 — Language and Literature Oriental languages and literatures Oriental philology and literature Hebrew Literature Individual authors and works
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 52
- Popularity
- 582,228
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, French, Hebrew
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
