July 29, 2024
In this heartfelt and lyrical debut novel from Tsabari (The Art of Leaving, a memoir) a Yemenite Jewish woman contends with her family’s origins. Zohara Haddad returns from New York City to her native Tel Aviv for her mother’s funeral in August 1995. She stays with her sister, Lizzie, and gets caught up in the family conflicts she’d hoped to leave behind. Their parents fled from persecution in Yemen in 1950, living at first in a squalid refugee camp with their infant son, Rafael, who was separated from them by camp officials, and whose unknown fate put a lingering strain on the family, causing Zohara to suspect her mother wished she had been born a boy. Now that she’s back in Israel, she angers Lizzie by attempting to warn her about her 17-year-old son Yoni’s involvement with a right-wing group. When Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated, Yoni happens to be in the crowd of anti-Rabin protesters and is arrested. At times, the historical background overshadows the central narrative, but for the most part Tsabari artfully plays up the religious and secular contrasts between East and West, and her well-developed characters, dramatic plot twists, and rich descriptions of Tel Aviv will keep readers turning the pages. This is transportive. Agent: David Forrer, InkWell Management.
March 7, 2025
Tsabari's (The Art of Leaving) lyrical debut follows Zohara, a bright Jewish Yemeni woman who is at loose ends, newly divorced and stalled out, as she tries to complete her doctoral dissertation. Zohara is determined to distance herself from her past and not return to Israel, but her plans change when her mother dies, and she must travel to Tel Aviv for the funeral. While there, she is exposed again to her Yemeni culture and, through her sister and her mother's best friend, uncovers surprising family secrets and her late mother's talent for writing poetry. The novel switches between Zohara's present-day struggles and the heart-wrenching younger years of her quiet and obedient mother, Saida, who falls deeply in love with Yaqub, another Yemeni immigrant, while in the Israeli migrant camp. Since Saida was married at 13 to a much older man she does not care for, her love for Yaqub is forbidden. Narrators Tsabari, Assaf Cohen, and Yossi Zabari join their voices to tell this story, allowing listeners to track the disparate threads through their elegant narration. VERDICT A poignant exploration of love, loss, identity, and self-discovery, and a deep dive into the richness of Yemeni Jewish culture.--Ilka Gordon
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