Panther in Jerusalem

Israel, 1972. Eran Volotsky is a 16-year-old boy whose mother left the house under unclear circumstances a decade ago, so he lives with only his father. As part of his school’s community service program, he visits a seriously ill patient at a local hospital several times a week.

The patient is Dov Gaponov, a translator with exceptional abilities, who translated the classic 12th-century Georgian epic The Knight in the Panther’s Skin from Georgian into Hebrew. Gaponov won the Tchernichovsky Prize for translation in 1969. Eran falls in love with Hava, a patient in the same hospital. But above all, Eran passionately depicts the inner landscapes of his life. The rare connection that develops between him and the translator reveals Gaponov’s profound artistry and accompanies the boy’s initiation into the art.

The novel is intertwined throughout with the translator’s authentic Hebrew letters and excerpts from the epic translation, creating a rich and polyphonic text that illustrates the translator’s existential journey. Like the translation work itself, Waldman’s poignant coming-of-age story travels between eras and places, bridging distances and dissolving solitude. Panther in Jerusalem has generated much excitement upon publication—so much so that Gaponov’s exemplary translation is set to be reissued in Hebrew.