Ten Thousand Lovers

Lily returns to Israel during the 1970’s and meets handsome Army interrogator Ami. Although attracted to him, she is never quite at ease with the situations his job demand of him. Lily tells the story of her relationship with Ami while also revealing a bit about her present life in England through chapters which flip-flop through the time difference. In addition, there are significant lessons in Hebrew words which add to the flavor of the book and provide insight into Israeli attitudes. The author even adds one recipe to give the taste of the Mideast!

Due to the increasing complexity of political turmoil in Israel and a tendency to be more mainstream, modern Israeli novelists increasingly tend to omit political leanings in their show more writing. No so Edeet Ravel. She weaves it into the very heart of her story with great eloquence. She expresses her views openly because one cannot live in Israel without revealing those feelings. Beyond that, however, is a more heartbreaking story. It’s of how an Israeli woman feels in the company of a man who loves not only her but also his country and has an important duty to both. The end of the story is one of the most powerful that I have read in a novel in a long time, and how the author creates this atmosphere is for the reader to discover. show less

I was absolutely blown away but this, the first in Edeet Ravel's Tel Aviv-trilogy - a series about war and its effect on people who fall in love in its midst. Ten Thousand Lovers is told through sections, a few pages devoted to each section. Some sections are about young Lily, a Canadian immigrant to Israel, some are about an older Lily, now living in London writing her memoirs, and the remaining sections are about language - the various meanings of words and the connection between Hebrew and Arabic and the various connotations that come out when languages intermix.

The order in which the sections are presented is what gives the story its urgency, because the reader is sometimes presented with an outcome of an event, but the actual show more event has not yet been told. The stakes are very high for the reader and you just want to read on to find out how the things that happened happen.

To call a non-thriller book a "page-turned" is rare, but this is truly it. I absolutely loved spending time with Lily and Ami and to follow how the progression of their love story and to see how they overcome the obstacles they face. The language sections are an intricate part of the equation in that they explain a lot of political and cultural issues which are part of Lily and Ami's life (in addition to being just plain interesting). This is one of my favorite reads so far this year and I know I will reread this more than once. show less

The prose is sublime, and the exploration/uses of language had me wishing I knew Hebrew. And in many ways this novel is a tour de force. But for me, it really failed to live up to its early promise. I felt I was being led to expect a much darker, more profound denouement, and was therefore ultimately disappointed.

But I will definitely keep reading this trilogy as when Ravel is on form, she is masterful.

What an excellent blind purchase! I have been trying to find books for the Olympic Challenge, and found this written by an Israeli. Like the author, the main character was born and grew up in a Kibbutz before moving to Canada. Lily is a young student who meets Ami by chance when hitchhiking. He is an actor turned interrogator, which goes against Lily's beliefs, but she falls for him. The book has 2 threads, the first is their story told in retrospective by Lily who is writing a book in the present. Lily is writing about Hebrew and where some of the words and phrases come from, something I found fascinating, the resurrection of a written language for modern times. It is also interesting to see where some of the non-Hebrew words have come show more from, English or even Arabic. This books gives you a look at Israel not found in the papers, insights into torture and the lives of the Arabs living in Israel. show less

Prepare to call in sick from work if you intend to read this book. Don't let the title fool you, this is no romance novel- more an amazing creation of discourse between Israeli/Jewish/Arab cultures and the individual lives that are held within that culture. Beautiful, intriguing, devastating, amazing. And for any linguists/anthropologists, highly recommended.

Don't let the title fool you; this is not a Harlequin, this is not a gentle Sunday afternoon read. Ten Thousand Lovers, the story of Lily and Ami, is really the story of Israel today, a country that is in the difficult position of trying to figure out a way to both be good and to survive. A book that is wonderful on two levels, appealing to both heart and mind.

A story about a man and a woman falling in love and dealing with some of the harsh realities of living in Israel. I liked.