Esther and Adina

Esther and Adina are unforgettable characters: audacious, funny and inquisitive. Both deviate suddenly from the steady course of the lives they have built for themselves and are compelled to act in unsettling ways. Each has a grownup child who has left home, and perhaps this is why they try to get a new grip on life. Their searches lead to situations that are sometimes comical, sometimes embarrassing and at other times full of goodness and intimacy.

The novella bearing Esther’s name comprises three letters in which she explains candidly to her only son, what has happened to her in recent years. In letters abounding in self-deprecating humor, practical wisdom and subtle irony she describes adventures that are not usually shared with one’s children, and reflects upon the role of their motherson relationship, evoking in the reader the picture of a mischievous, life-loving character.

Adina is an accountant by profession. What others see as pettiness and narrow-mindedness are to her mind precision and honesty. One day, out of her uncompromising striving for the truth, she crosses a line, causing harm both to herself and others. As a consequence, she goes into temporary exile in Hamburg, far away from her beloved husband and her grownup daughter. While there, encounters that show her how the truth can be interpreted in different ways lead her to do some incisive soul-searching.