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| Michal Govrin |
Hold on to the Sun |
| Stories |
Tel Aviv, Hakibbutz Hameuchad/Siman Kriah, 1984. 141 pp.
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Govrin's stories are linked by a common theme: a sudden break in petit bourgeois living reveals to the various protagonists the mystical moments of revelation underlying daily life. In the title story a Jerusalemite scholar who studies the history of Jewish prayer is looking for a special, long-neglected prayer book. He does not find the book. Instead, he comes across a story about a tribe living on a Pacific island which celebrates a yearly ritual of holding the sun.
Unexpected discoveries occur in other stories. The book also includes the triptych "La Promenade," which portrays several Polish Holocaust survivors who meet in a peaceful summer resort. Memories of the Holocaust emerge through a weave of politeness and hypocrisy, underscoring the vanity of life and the insignificance of time.
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About the Book
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Novelist Benny Ziffer writes: "In all of these stories Govrin exercises magic, or hypnosis...." Rachel Shklovsky declared it: "Especially recommended to the discerning reader in search of quality fiction."
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