The Situation: Before Zohara received a phone call that changed everything, she was a graduate student in New York, fast approaching burnout as she struggles to finish her dissertation. This is why she is actually vacationing in Thailand when she answers her sister Lizzie's call, the one that informs her that their mother, Saida, has died. Zohara quickly packs up and flies home, reuniting with a sister she has felt distant from; a now nearly adult nephew, Yoni; and a house full of memories of both of her parents, and the tension she always felt growing up there.
The Problem: Returning home to grieving family and friends, while also attempting to manage her own grief and complicated feelings about her mother, is a difficult task. It seems Zohara can never say the right thing to her sister, and while cleaning out her mother's house, she begins to find small items and clues about her mother's hidden past, specifically from when she first came to Israel from Yemen, including a series of tapes where Saida recorded herself singing. Meanwhile, tensions outside of the house rise as peace negotiations commence, but car bombings and other terrorist activities increase. Zohara is not sure she is prepared for the answers to all of her questions, especially as they begin to contradict everything she thought she knew.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in Israel, mostly around Tel Aviv in the the mid-1990s, while also telling the story of a young Yemeni Jewish man in the 1950s, shortly after Israel became a nation, and he and his family came into the country from Yemen. For Zohara, returning home means confronting the things about her childhood that caused her to leave her home country, including her feelings of abandonment when she was sent away to attend an elite boarding school as a teenager. But things become more complicated when what Zohara remembers turns out to not be the full truth. Meanwhile, protests continue as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process continues, and Saida's early days in Israel are revealed through chapters told by Yaqub, bringing to light a complicated past that Zohara never knew.
My Verdict: As I mentioned in the introduction, I enjoyed learning more about the history of Israel, especially in the context of a young Yemeni Jewish man, as well as a 30-something woman returning home after her mother has died. The way the story behind the story unfolds is masterful and keeps the reader engaged. And the same can be said for the history of Israel and the conflict with Palestine as it leads up to key historical events. While Zohara, Yaqub, and Yoni's stories all have their interesting points, I often found myself annoyed when the narrative switched from one to the other, as is often the case when a book has more than one character as the focus. But overall, historical fiction readers will enjoy this one.
Favorite Moment: There are several moments when Zohara is confronted with her own selfishness, but there is one in particular where someone (who is not her sister, who calls her out often) is direct with her, pulling no punches, and it proves to be effective.
Favorite Character: Nir is a local shop owner who helps Zohara with some translation, and he is not only helpful, but also honest without being mean.
Recommended Reading: The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan is another historical fiction novel set during World War II as Japan was invading Malaysia, and explores one woman's desire to be more than a housewife, and a decision that helps bring conflict and oppression to her country.
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