Requiem for Na’aman

Requiem for Na'aman is the story of the Abramson family from the end of the 19th century up to 1973. The characters are individualists who also represent social and ideological factions in the history of the pre-independent Jewish community. The founder of the dynasty represented a revolutionary change in Jewish history when he came to Israel and became a farmer. His wife never managed to adapt to life in the country and finally committed suicide. Their descendants continue in their footsteps, each in his own way. The son, Na'aman, is a musician, who goes mad in Paris and dies. The grandson, Elyakum returns to Palestine after travelling for years, and is killed in the War of Independence, and the great-granddaughter, Bella-Yaffa, loses her mind. The national self-appraisal of this book turns it into a requiem for the Zionist dream.



The power of this book lies in the way in which Tammuz portrays his individualist heroes and in his ability to show the innermost thoughts of people in distress.
Moznayim