Books Set in the Middle East: Israel

Homesick, by Eshkol Nevo (2008)

 

Homesick takes place in a small village somewhere between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv where we become acquainted with several of its residents.  The book with college students, Amir and Noa, young college students looking for their first apartment in the fall of 1995.  Amir is studying psychology in Tel Aviv and Noa is a photography student at the Bezalel Art College in Jerusalem, hence their need for a place in between both cities.

 

Most of the residents in the village are Jewish immigrants from Kurdistan.  Amir and Noa find a small apartment in a home inhabited by Moshe and Sima Zakian and Moshe’s parents, Avram and Gina.  Their landlords are about their same age but married young and have two small children.  They share a common wall with their landlord, and in fact, much reach through a small hole in the wall to turn on the hot water to their apartment.

 

The house across the street belongs to Reuven and Nechama Averni.  Amir and Noa mistakenly enter the Averni home when they first arrive, thinking that is their intended destination.  The Averni’s are sitting shiva for their son Gidi, who was kill fighting in Lebanon.  Nechama is unable to stop grieving for her son and neglects her younger son, Yotam, who befriends Amir.

 

The home where the Zakian’s live had formerly been owned by an Arab family prior to 1948.  Saddiq A’adana, a middle-aged Arab, has been working on a construction site nearby.  He recognized the Zakian’s house as the one he lived in as a young child.  He is determined to get into the house to look for a gold chain that was left behind when his family fled.  He tries to make conversation with Gina, but she is fearful of him.

 

In Israel, the title of the book literally means Four Houses and Longings.  This title aptly describes the characters we are introduced to.  Each has his or her own longings, some of which they keep to themselves, causing rifts with their loved ones.  I just loved the way the characters came alive.

 

I first read this book in July 2017.  I still loved it upon a 2^nd reading.

 

Read:  May 12, 2021

 

5 Stars

 

~~~~~~~~~

Homesick, by Eshkol Nevo (2008)

Homesick by Eshkol Nevo takes place in a small village somewhere between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. We are introduced to the town when we meet Amir and Noa in the Fall of 1995, who are looking for their first apartment together. They find a tiny apartment in a house that before the War of Independence had belonged to an Arab family. Now the house is home to Sima and Moshe, a young couple with two small children, and Moshe's parents, who have the upstairs apartment. The family next door just lost their eldest son in the war in Lebanon. Because the parents are so distraught, they ignore their younger son, Yotam, who befriends Amir. Nearby, another family is adding on to their home. One of the Arab construction workers, Saddiq, once lived in the house now home to Sima and Moshe.

This novel is told through the voices of many characters. Thus, we experience the everyday experiences and interpersonal relationship from many points of view. This really made the characters come alive. I loved this book. 

Read: July 21, 2017

5 Stars