A New Hat

The summer his grandfather dies is a confusing time for twelve-year-old Noam. Grandfather Ze’ev is ill in hospital, but Noam knows very little about his grandfather’s situation. He is used to being told nothing and gets most of his information by eavesdropping.

When Noam finally convinces his mother to take him to visit the hospital, Grandpa Ze’ev’s weakness is very disturbing. Grandpa asks Noam to take home his new hat so that it will not get damaged. Grandpa Zeev’s ex-wife — Noam’s Grandma — arrives from America and Noam understands this as a sign of the severity of Ze’ev’s illness. Although Noam sees his father cry for the first time, no one actually tells him anything, nor do they let him know when Grandpa Ze’ev dies. Noam is given his grandfather’s new hat and clutches it as a symbol of new times. He has encountered mortality and learned that there are problems that have no solution.

Noam is an introvert,” wrote German reviewer Antje Dollman. “His fears, his wish to be grown up, his loneliness when his grandfather dies — all this is described sharply, with sobriety, and without a trace of sentimentality.”