He Who Waits
This novel’s multi-layered plot tells the story of an Israeli family who go the United States for a year – Shuli Binun, the mother, has been invited to work on a project at Harvard.
Ten-year-old Zizi feels torn and tries to hold on to his Israeliness as well as to give the upsetting move some meaning. So he seeks a mission helping Israel, like becoming a Mossad agent. He starts off his Zionist assignment by trying to unravel the secret of reclusive Mr. Freund, his neighbor in Boston. On one of his “spying expeditions” to Mr Freund’s home, Zizi sees the picture of a bronze statue depicting a young soldier, and under it, a sequence of incomprehensible “lottery numbers”: 48, 56, 67. Zizi knows that Mr. Freund is emotionally attached to this picture, and he sets out to find-and clean-the statue. But Mr Freund’s secret turns out to be quite different from what he expected. Finally, Zizi runs away to Washington, hoping to find refuge in the Israeli embassy in exchange for his top secret work.
A wonderfully insightful novel about an Israeli family far from home.
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“ Zizi's sweetness is compelling... Tolub contrasts "Americanness" to "Israeliness" in a distinctive and smooth way... Beautifully, at times exquisitely written.”
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“ He Who Waits has a primal, liberated, boundless authenticity, as though the author had just sprung from the womb of writing.”
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“ He Who Waits is unique, very Israeli and holds great promise. A fascinating and enjoyable first book”
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“ Tolub sketches the love-hate, admiration-contempt axis that characterizes the relationship between Israel and the U.S. with astonishing accuracy... He does a grand job of presenting our complex relationship with Uncle Sam.”