Book Description

“A very wise book, and it is written in the most beautiful, precise and definitive prose.” -La Nirgad, Ha’aretz Literary Supplement “Sometimes one had the experience of reading a book and just falling in love with it-because it is so well written, so moving, and it gets into your soul. That was my experience when I read The Confessions of Noa Weber .” -Eleonora Lev, Ha’aretz Acclaimed middle-aged writer Noa Weber-acclaimed both as a writer and as one of Israel’s leading feminists-has all the trappings of a successful “feminist” life: She has a strong career, a wonderful daughter she raised alone, and she’s a respected cultural figure. Yet her interior life is inextricably bound by her love for a man-Alek, a Russian ÉmigrÉ and the father of her child, who, over the years, has drifted in and out of her life. Trying to understand-as well as free herself from-this lifelong obsession, Noa turns her pen upon herself, and with relentless honesty dissects her life. Against the evocative setting of turbulent, modern-day Israel, the examination becomes a quest-to transform the nature of her love from irrational desire to a greater, transcendent comprehension of the sublime. The Confessions of Noa Weber introduces to the English-speaking world a startlingly talented writer in a rich tale that illuminates the desires, yearnings, and complexities of life in Israel, and of people trying to balance the needs of the secular world with the ultimate need and desire for transcendence. Gail Hareven is one of Israel’s leading writers; the author of five novels, three short story collections, plays, a nonfiction book, and two children’s books; and the winner of the prestigious Sapir Prize for The Confessions of Noa Weber . She teaches writing and feminist theory in Jerusalem. This is her first book to be translated into English.