The Burning Deer

Seen from the outside, Aran Zvi Hefetz, an electronics engineer, has all the qualities of a winner: hard working, honest and successful, married to a clinical psychiatrist and father of three. But all is not as it seems. Hefetz keeps forgetting things which everybody else in his family remembers-the mysterious disappearance of his little daughter`s parrot, for example, or the problem with the family`s gas oven.

What seems at first to be an idiosyncrasy preoccupies him more and more, and he starts listing what he calls his “black holes.” After carefully analyzing his list of nine items, he establishes precise dates, and one day he makes a stunning discovery: the dates of these black holes, which coincide with unexplained absences from his office, match the dates when huge fires broke out in various parts of the country, causing damage and loss of life. In short, Aran Zvi Hefetz starts suspecting himself of being a pyromaniac and a dangerous arsonist…. From this point on, the story unravels in a definite direction, as Hefetz gathers all sorts of data-both factual and intuitive-which eventually lead to his own indictment. Overcome by guilt and remorse, he finally knows what he has to do. After pouring gasoline over himself, he strikes a match and jumps from the balcony of his house.

Part tragic story, part first-rate psychological thriller, The Burning Deer is clearly the work of a psychologist-Lapid`s own profession-and abounds in original ideas.