Little Big Bang

The olive is one of the seven species with which Israel has been blessed, but what does one do when an olive tree grows out of one’s ear?
The story begins with a father's olive diet, which takes an unpleasant turn when he accidentally swallows a pit and a tree sprouts from his ear. Even the Arab olive expert that they consult claims there is nothing anyone can do: the family must simply come to terms with it. And this is just the beginning. The bizarre situation deteriorates further when the tree extends its roots into disputed territory: a plot of land the Israelis are to give back to the Palestinians in only a few hours. The army representatives who arrive at the scene are unable to dislodge the father, now firmly planted in the earth. And so he becomes a sort of nature reserve, a wonder that people come to admire from all over the world.
Little Big Bang, which starts out with an ordinary Israeli family: a grandmother who is the ultimate "Polish mother," a neurotic father preoccupied with his weight, and an extreme right-wing grandfather, soon becomes a grotesque satire. A wild story about Jews, Arabs, olives and the insufferable political reality in Israel.


Both a profound analysis of contemporary Israeli society, and a fantastical family fresco, revealing the pain and the conflicts which still haunt this post-Shoah generation.
Le Monde des livres 

It is so incongruous to burst out laughing while reading a novel that mentions the Holocaust as well as dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that we must pay tribute to the author of this little miracle.
Libération

A humorous illness explains the Middle East… Benny Barbash returns [with a new book] to add a smile to insoluble problems.
La Repubblica

Ironic, surreal, hilarious. 
Gazetta di Mantova


English translation available (for publishers only)