Husband and Wife

One morning Na’ama wakes up to a new reality. Her husband, until now a healthy, active tour guide, announces that he cannot get out of bed. From the beginning of the novel, reminiscent of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, we have full view of the relationship between Udi, who has gone on “strike” and his wife, who tries to cope with the crisis in their marriage.

The pace of the plot changes swiftly, as suits the protagonist, Na’ama, who flutters incessantly between a sense of total loss and the feeling that she has finally found solid ground. We learn the intimate details of the couple’s life and, as though through a magnifying mirror, we see our own conjugal relationships anew. Husband and Wife is a classic novel about marriage, amazingly daring and full of sharp insights. Shalev uses her surprising plot and rich imagery to uncover hidden emotional impulses which turn husband and wife into almost complete strangers.