We Shall Rest

We Shall Rest, which spans a century and three continents, is the story of Lisa and Chavaleh. Although the two women are a generation apart, their lives run along parallel tracks and meet at times because they are made of the same material: great dreams and ideologies that have let them down, and unsettled accounts with the past. The stories of Lisa and Chavaleh are skillfully linked with those of other characters—most of them immigrants and refugees from the Holocaust, who long to find new roots, respite and security. But life is by nature the enemy of rest, and the two heroines find themselves buffeted from continent to continent in a constant emotional whirlwind, bitter at having missed – so they think – the most important part of their lives. But despite the “hard work of living,” We Shall Rest expresses a deep affirmation of life, which comes from the author’s love for her characters. This is the novel’s secret charm: although Rozensher Dolan criticizes her characters, she views all their faults – the lies, betrayals, and desertions  – as human failings, and therefore forgivable.