Things that I Know about R.

Rachel, married with a daughter, has not fulfilled her artistic ambitions and does not function well as a mother. She has a kind and understanding husband, but when she accidentally meets Shaul, a former lecturer and lover from her student days and the father of her child, she leaves family and security in order to rekindle their relationship. Determined to be again the desirable young woman and passionate artist that she once was, she follows Shaul to Toronto, only to realize he is a burnt-out old man.

Na’ama, the protagonist of the second novella, is a lonely 11-year-old girl who lives with her family in a decrepit, overcrowded housing project. She is captivated by Rivka, an elegant neighbor with old European manners who becomes a mother figure to her, giving her hope that one day she will escape from her drab surroundings. But Na’ama soon discovers that the woman she worships is just like everyone else, and her dream of refinement and beauty is shattered.

In the third story, Natalie comes to Tel Aviv from an outlying area with her boyfriend Yossi, a talented but unambitious hairdresser. An energetic young woman, she makes Yossi’s dream come true by setting up a successful hair salon which she manages with skill. Yossi becomes a celebrity, but Natalie does not reap the marriage proposal she’d expected. The three women in Bolle’s mature and discerning book all struggle with frustration and a sense of the inadequacy of their lives; all three seek recognition through the eyes of another, but in each case this person lets them down.