The Book of Israela
Cód:
491_9781532658488
Jerusalem, 2002: the height of the second intifada. Kobi Benami is a middle-aged psychologist whose life is in shambles. His wife has thrown him out for his casual philandering; his daughter refuses to speak to him; and the new clinic director has placed him on probation for his indifferent work habits. At this desperate juncture, Kobi gets a new patient, Israela, whose story is full of uncanny biblical references, and whose powerful and enigmatic husband, Y, may or may not exist. Israela hasnt seen Y in months, but she is being stalked by his prophet-like emissaries who span a wide spectrum of Israeli society--Orthodox to secular, right-wing settlers to left-wing urban elites--united only in their harsh condemnation of Israela, fierce devotion to Y, and connection to The Outstretched Arm, a sinister organization purported to be run by Y. As Kobi becomes ensnared in a surreal encounter with the anthropomorphized story of ancient Israel, and increasingly preoccupied with questions about the nature and existence of Y, he is forced to confront his own dysfunctional life patterns, his familys tragic past, and the endless war that rages around him.The Book of Israela uses an unreliable narrator to paint a funny, horrifying, and honest portrait of contemporary Israel, while it explores the beauty and absurdity of Abrahamic monotheism. The ancient prophets (or possibly just random crazy people) haunt the steps of a secular, self-centered Israeli psychologist, whose new client, Israela, upends his life. Riddled with ingenious biblical references, Blumenthals novel is part apocalypse, part comic book, and part biblical scavenger hunt, told unforgettably.--Maurice D. Harris, Rabbi and author of Leviticus: You Have No IdeaA compelling story about a hapless, faithless Jerusalem psychologist during the worst of the intifada, this ambitious novel is also a sustained biblical allegory about Israels volatile relationship with God. Blumenthals learned fiction
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