By Bianca Marais
A beautifully-written and touching book about 3 women, each struggling with her own personal problems, but eventually all coming together and helping each other, whether intentionally or not. This is all happening amidst the revolutionary transition of South Africa out of apartheid (and the racism and violence that accompanied it), and in the deepest depths of the AIDs epidemic (not devoid of violence, either). [fiction, 435 pp.]
By Sasha Okun
A very special book that looks at the art of drawing through technique and skill building, accompanied by history, stories, and explanations as to why this technique and skill building is important. A lot of the principles talked about here (perspective, composition, mark-making) are taught in art school, but here they are peppered with personal anecdotes and art-historical stories that are relevant to the subject (though sometimes intentionally irrelevant!) The book is full of humor, the author's viewpoint of what art is (and what isn't art), and other philosophical musings. [Hebrew, 294 pp.]
By Assaf Inbari
An interesting account of the three leader's of Israel's first socialist party. This was at the time surrounding the establishment of the state, with those who favored America's support and those (like the heroes of this book) who favored USSR's support; Israel's character will be determined by those who win. These three, though they worked together, were far from agreeing on pretty much anything. They each had their own agenda, their own reactions to the revealed atrocities of the soviets, their own personal problems. All is told in plain, flowing language in this book. [non-fiction, 180pp.]
By Orit Ilan
A well-written and interesting look at different people who are connected in random ways, and share a longing to understand what it is that shifted them from the path they thought they were supposed to take. Have they been cursed by a witch? Are they victims of random acts of the world? [Hebrew, 348pp.]
By Meir Shalev
This book is very different from older books of the same author that I've read. It seems more shallow, more crude, with elements of a romance novel. It tells the story of an annual meeting between brothers, the older one, and the hero of the story is extraordinarily handsome with all the benefits that are associated with such characteristic. During this one most recent meeting the older brother tells a story that happened 20 year earlier (this is where the romance/suspense aspect comes into play). In the midst of this storytelling are interwoven memories of both brothers of their parents and their lovers. [264 pp.]
By Chayuta Deutsch and David Jacobson
This book follows the story of a woman who married a young man who became the lead rabbi of a town in Medieval Spain, and who later converted to Christianity following the 1391 anti-Jewish violence events, took their kids with him, and later became the bishop of that same town. The book also follows the person who decides to discover everything she can about this woman, who at the time -- just before Covid started -- was just a footnote, and her collaboration with a Spanish history professor during a time of closures and isolation, and her life with taking care of an aging mother and a recently-diagnosed Alzheimer's husband. [320 pp.]
By Steve Martin
Set up in Los Angeles, this is the story of a young woman who's an artist by night and an unambitious luxury-store sales person by day, and two of her lovers. One is older and wealthy, hopping to LA on business trips and spend time with other women while in his home base in Seattle. The other is a young, socially-awkward guy, who's obsessed about amps. By the end of the book they all go through transformations and become better versions of themselves. [130 pp.]
