Adam and Sophie
Adam and Sophie, this talented young writer`s new novel, is an astute critique of Israeli society. Starting with the First Lebanon War of 1982, it unfolds over a period of twenty years and explores the lives of people constantly unsettled by war, past and present.
Adam Boimel, a photojournalist in his 50s, is found shot and in a deep coma near a deserted storage house in Jaffa; beside him lies the body of his friend, Rabbi Zohar Malachi. The investigation takes us back to Auschwitz and to Lebanon-mainly Beirut-whose events continue to haunt the protagonists. It also unravels the plot from the perspective of various characters, whether dead-but still mentally active-or alive: Adam, in a deep coma; Sophie, his ex, his father-in-law Morris, a retired street-sweeper devastated by the death of his wife; his father Menachem, a Holocaust survivor who is losing his memory, and Rabbi Malachi, who, after his murder, becomes secular again and rants against the Almighty whom he calls Al.
All these characters present fragments of their fascinating, confused worlds, and even after the murder is solved, they leave many unanswered questions regarding their identity and the future of Israeli society.
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“ We should keep an eye on Iczkovits. He is an amazing, promising talent... that will be talked about for a long time to come.”
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“ A major, dizzying novel animated by an inner flame.”
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“ The literary expectations raised by Yaniv Iczkovits’ first novel have now been fulfilled in his second. ”
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“ From a dramatic point of view, the Lebanon War is the strongest experience in the novel and its exposure justifies the tension it imposes on the reader… Iczkovits’s talent is evident.”