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| Nava Semel |
Bride on Paper |
| Novel |
Tel Aviv, Am Oved, 1996. 197 pp.
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This story takes place 70 years ago during the British Mandate in Palestine and focuses on a romantic triangle between Anna, a young student from Poland, Imri, an idealistic young Jew who lives in a small village, and Major Charles Timothy Parker, a British pilot. The tale begins with a fictitious marriage. Imri is sent to Poland on a Zionist mission. He has agreed to marry a woman he doesn`t know in order to get her a legal immigration certificate. However, his plan goes awry when he falls in love with Anna, his "paper bride." Since they must divorce, Imri leaves Anna in the care of his spinster aunt and his younger brother Uzik. Uzik has a learning disability and hates books, but he has a passion for the cinema, especially the hero of the Tarzan movies, Johnny Weismuller. Sixty years later, Uzik looks back on his childhood. Now an elderly film-maker, he is trying to capture this long-forgotten love on film.
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About the Book
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Ma`ariv wrote that "Semel is a wonderful author." Kol Israel, the Israeli broadcasting service, described the book as "a fascinating story. Through this book people will remember their own personal biography." Ophira Ben-Arieh, head of the Hebrew Literature Club in Chicago, said about the book: "So interesting. Historical, romantic and juicy. A wonderful combination."
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