The Printers
In the Bechar family everything begins with dreams. Grandma Nonna Bechar’s dreams in Istanbul in which she peeled the world like a giant quince; the dreams of her son Maurice who walked all the way from Istanbul to Israel and opened a printing shop there; the dreams of Uncle Yuda, the poet who translates Don Quixote, but publishes nothing; and also the dreams of Anna, the artist who sketches the faces of all the family and who is loyal and loving but who may be the end of it all. The family printing shop is at the heart of this novel and the lives of all the characters flow into it, whether they adore it or despise its very existence.
The Printers traverses time and place, from Istanbul to Tel Aviv, Paris to Jerusalem. This is a novel about a family, but also about individuals: Intellectuals who believe in dreams, Hebrew language fanatics who yearn for Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language that is all but forgotten. It is a novel about the possibility of continuity and about lives that are cut short.
A realist novel, in which dreams, imagination and proverbs play a key role. The Printers is a story about a lost world and about a deep love for books, words, and the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Winner of the special award of the Minister of Culture for debut works 2019.
-
“We long for quality literature, and this book satisfied our hunger. It is a depiction of emotions and references from various points of view. A song of love for printing and for books.”
-
“A book for book lovers, people who love the printed word and who love a good story. The characters touch one’s heart. ”