Four Shades of Love

Paris in the 1930s, Palestine under the British Mandate, and Israel from its early days to the 1990s are the backdrop of this skillfully narrated novel. Betty comes to Paris from her native Poland in the early 1930s to join her brother. And there, she falls in love with Yakir Cordovero, a young man without ambition, the son of a wealthy family in Mandatory Palestine. After an unwanted pregnancy and abortion, they move to Israel, where both marry and set up separate families while continuing their relationship. Significantly, Betty becomes more fulfilled than the two men in her life: her husband Jacob works as a school teacher and Yakir turns into a frustrated, unpublished author. Betty, on the other hand, drives her own private car and builds an impressive career as one of the first social workers in Israel. Overshadowed by news of the Jews` annihilation in Europe, and by the continual proximity of her former sweetheart, Betty`s life is, however, not entirely happy. Narrated through the voices of Betty, Yakir, Jacob, and finally Rafi, the son who delves into his parents` past for inspiration to write, the novel creates a knot of emotions, secrets and loyalties.

PARTIAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION IN PROGRESS (for publishers only).