My Perfume Garden

This vibrant historical novel is set in the Land of Israel during the 1st century B.C. Avital, an imaginative girl, lives in the village of Ein Gedi. Her parents are farmers – they grow persimmons and use a secret recipe to make costly perfume from them. But her mother is also educated and Avital takes after her. In this vein, Avital helps a wounded soldier who has deserted on grounds of conscience. She also understands her older brother`s dislike for farm work and his reasons for joining the “Togetherness Sect,” much to their father`s distress. As the plot unfolds, Avital has various experiences, some pleasant (a pilgrimage to Jerusalem), others painful (the death of her younger brother). After his persimmon groves are confiscated by the authorities, her father leaves Ein Gedi. Avital and her mother cope alone with life`s hardships and found a school for girls. And then the boy Avital loves invites her to the vineyards to celebrate the Festival of Love.