Second Person Singular, Sayed Kashua (2010)
This novel follows two Arab-Israeli men living in Jerusalem. The first man, identified only as lawyer, is a hot-shot defense lawyer with a successful practice, a wife and a loving family. His story is told in the third-person narrative. The other man, a social-worker turned artist, tells his story in the first-person. The novel goes back and forth between the two men as we learn about their lives and backgrounds. They are conflicted about their lives as Arab-Israelis.
The lawyer is happy with his life until he purchases a book and finds a note in his wife's handwriting within the book's pages. Convinced it is a love letter, he is determined to find the author of the note. a note in his wife's handwriting in a used book. The social worker quits his job and becomes a caretaker for a severely injured and vegetative young Jewish man. Their lives become intertwined as the lawyer become increasingly paranoid about the owner of the note written by his wife.
The novel explores the identity of Arabs who are assimilated into Israeli culture.
Read: August 8, 2025
4 Stars
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