The Yard of Momo the Great [The Last Hamsin]
Shaul, a bachelor in his 30s, moves to a new home and in six hot summer weeks his world unravels. Alone in the country, shut inside his past horrors, Shaul is unable to steer his own life. He has an affair with Tamara but becomes obsessed with her husband.
Hendel’s basic premise is that a person alone cannot piece together the broken shards of his or her personality. Driven by memories and homesickness, Shaul needs male friendship to recover his life. Crushed by guilt over her daughter’s death, Tamara is unfocused, more concerned with her doll collection than with her husband or lover. She fails to notice as the identities of the two blur, progressing to the point where it is unclear which one has spoken. Slowly and inexorably, the three move towards psychological disintegration and a violent ending.
| Title | The Yard of Momo the Great [The Last Hamsin] |
|---|---|
| Writer's Last Name | Hendel |
| Writer's First Name | Yehudit |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher (Hebrew) | Hakibbutz Hameuchad |
| No. Pages | 220pp. |
| Book title - Hebrew (phonetic) | He-Chatzer Shel Momo Ha-Gdola; Ha-Hamsin Ha-Acharon, O: He-Chatzer Shel Momo Ha-Gdola |
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“ I discovered an outstanding psychological novel. ”
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“ A gem... With her fantastic realism, which combines restraint with restlessness, Hendel writes about people who live carelessly yet try to hold onto life. ”
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“ Hendel's anti-heroes are astonishing.. in their psychological complexity.”