If it weren’t for the excruciating heatwaves hitting us one after the other, we in Israel might have forgotten that it’s now summer, supposedly the most fun time of the year. But with the war raging on, the hostages still not home and so many dead and wounded around us, we’re not feeling particularly summery.
The political situation elsewhere in the world is no less depressing, so we thought to try and help take your mind off things with recommendations for Israeli books to immerse yourself in this summer and forget, if only for a little while, the gigantic mess we’re all in.
Wishing us all better times to come.
David Grossman is Israel’s leading contemporary author, and his latest novel, More Than I Love Myself, more than justifies the title. The book explores the incredible lives of three generations of women across different times in history and locations, and the difficult relations that ensue between them. It’s not exactly uplifting, but a truly wonderful story.
The Wolf Hunt takes readers to Silicon Valley, where an Israeli family finds itself unraveling as racial tensions and secrets rise to the fore. There’s nothing like a good thriller to take your mind off things, and this seemingly small story projects poignant universal themes.
Unstoppable Us might seem like Yuval Noah Harari for kids, but it most certainly isn’t. While the illustrated book is a great one for kids curious to learn more about humans in the world — from learning to make fire and using the stars as guides to cooking meals in microwaves and landing on the Moon — it’s also a beautiful option for adults looking for a fun, slightly different read.
In September, look for Harari’s newest work, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI.
Eshkol Nevo’s latest novel is a page-turning exploration of love and turbulent relationships of different kinds. His knack for deftly presenting complex, unusual characters and weaving them into a great story makes this a perfect summer page-turner.
There’s a good chance that you already love Sarit Yishai-Levi’s previous book, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, and an equally good chance that you’ll love her newest novel, The Woman Beyond the Sea, as well. The story focuses on a mother and daughter whose present difficulties lure them to delve into their past and explore their relationships.
Yaniv Iczkovitz’s award-winning book tells the tale of two Jewish sisters in Russia in the late 19th century out on a quest for justice. The family drama spills over into geopolitical settings in the most unusual circumstances, making for a fun, fabulous and unusual read.
Etgar Keret is one of Israel’s favorite contemporary writers, known for his seemingly abstract short stories that manage to be wild and touching at the same time. Fly Away is no different, bringing together the stories of people and their dire relationships, with all the stories strung together around the thesis of communication. It’s a great book for bedtime, plane travel, or even, if you’re lucky, for the beach.
Speaking of beach, Iddo Gefen’s Jerusalem Beach is being hailed as reminiscent of the work of Etgar Keret, in the best possible way. The collection of short stories touches on love, loss, the impossible and the mundane, all in a very Israeli setting.
Hila Blum’s award-winning novel is about a woman’s quest to understand how her relationship with her daughter went so very wrong. Weaving back and forth in time, she examines memories and long-buried feelings in a story that is full of surprises and suspense.
In his latest book, author Sayed Kashua blends the personal and the literary to tell the story of an unnamed memoirist living with his family in Illinois who has been called back to Israel to the bedside of his dying father. Upon arriving back in Jerusalem and in the Arab-Israeli town of Tira, the memoirist is confronted with past events and traumas, poignantly leading him to dwell on love, belonging and alienation.
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