Israeli Archives - BookDragon

Tunnels by Rutu Modan, translated by Ishai Mishory [in Shelf Awareness]

30 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Repost, Translation

No one knows what happened to the Ark of the Covenant, the legendary vessel holding Moses' engraved Ten Commandments, but "archeologists, mystics, and adventurers still seek for it in vain," explains Eisner-winning comics creator Rutu Modan in an introductory note to her intriguing graphic title...

City of a Thousand Gates by Rebecca Sacks [in Booklist]

22 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Israeli, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Palestinian, Repost

Lameece Issaq reads languidly, her voice an ongoing invitation to Rebecca Sacks’ debut in which so much happens, but by book’s end might feel narratively stagnant – not because of Sacks’ writing, but because Israel and Palestine remain relentlessly enshrouded in conflict. The opening credits wisely...

The Last Interview by Eshkol Nevo, translated by Sondra Silverston [in Booklist]

01 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Israeli, Jewish, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW Internationally bestselling author Eshkol Nevo and award-winning translator Sondra Silverston are five-for-five in enabling Anglophone readers seamless access to Nevo’s engrossing novels. Reminiscent of the retired judge in his last title, Three Floors Up (2017), who communicated with her dead husband via answering-machine messages,...

Apeirogon by Colum McCann [in Booklist]

11 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Biography, Fiction, Irish American, Israeli, Middle Eastern, Nonfiction, Palestinian, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW When Colum McCann first considered narrating his books, he offered to audition for his own National Book Awarded Let the Great World Spin: “...

Track Changes by Sayed Kashua, translated by Mitch Ginsburg [in Shelf Awareness]

11 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Arab, Fiction, Israeli, Palestinian, Repost, Translation

In the "track changes" function of a word processing program, the "all markup" option preserves all deletions, additions, rewrites for the life of the document – although the last editor ultimately chooses what to accept and reject in the final version. Palestinian Israeli Sayed Kashua,...

The Teacher by Michal Ben-Naftali, translated by Daniella Zamir [in Booklist]

04 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Biography, European, Fiction, Israeli, Jewish, Repost, Translation

“Elsa Weiss left no testimony behind” when she jumped to her death some 30 years ago. She remains a recorded name, one of the 1,684 Jews on the infamous Kastner train that left Budapest, Hungary, in June 1944; she was among the 1,670 passengers to...

Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss [in Library Journal]

16 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Israeli, Jewish, Repost

In Nicole Krauss's (The Great House) first novel in seven years, two untethered American Jews experience parallel epic quests in Israel. One will die, the other will be transformed. The story is told in alternating chapters, and the pair never meet. Jules Epstein, a Manhattan lawyer...

All the Rivers by Dorit Rabinyan [in Library Journal]

21 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Israeli, Jewish, Palestinian, Repost, Translation

Gabra Zackman narrates with intense intimacy, as if fully aware what she's reading is more than mere words on the page. This electrifying love story between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man continues to inspire global headlines – it's earned author Dorit Rabinyan (Persian...

Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation edited by by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman [in Library Journal]

20 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Israeli, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Palestinian, Repost

"We didn't want to edit this book," married Jewish authors Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman confess. "We didn't want to write or even think…about Israel and Palestine, about the nature and meaning of occupation." But Waldman's 2014 visit to her birthplace forced both to "pay...

An After Bedtime Story by Shoham Smith, illustrated by Einat Tsarfati [in Booklist]

11 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Israeli, Repost

When the usual bedtime fare doesn’t induce slumber, why not try an after-bedtime tale? Every parent will instantly recognize the angelic-toddler-turned-truculent-terror for whom sleep is just not a priority. Tonight, adorable, tiara-wearing Nina can’t sleep, not when there’s a party going on in her own house....

The Divine by Boaz Lavie, illustrated by Asaf Hanuka and Tomer Hanuka

10 Jul, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

Really, it's not just because of the dragon that I'm telling you to read this. Although, yes, the dragon is indeed an intriguing draw, especially since it doesn't appear until the very last pages, deus ex machina-style, albeit not without bringing violent retribution with it,...

Mike’s Place: A True Story of Love, Blues, and Terror in Tel Aviv by Jack Baxter and Joshua Faudem, illustrated by Koren Shadmi

12 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, British, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Middle Eastern, Nonfiction

Most of this true, part of this is reasonable conjecture, all of it is electrifying. Filmmaker Jack Baxter arrives in Tel Aviv in 2003 to make a film that never happens. But on the night before his departure back to New York, he stumbles upon a...

Abukacha’s Shoes by Tamar Tessler

23 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, European, Fiction, Israeli

Meet Abukacha, who lives "in a village far, far away" with his family. "Everyone knew Abukacha because he had the biggest shoes in the whole wide world." After so many years of working and traveling, they're no longer made for walking, so Abukacha visits his...

Jerusalem: A Family Portrait by Boaz Yakin and Nick Bertozzi, based on a story by Boaz Yakin and Moni Yakin, with art director Chris Sinderson

05 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Jewish, Memoir, Middle Eastern, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Some years back, during a discussion about what was then the latest tragic news coming out of the Middle East, a friend's mother softly remarked about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, "The absolute worst arguments happen among families." She (the widow of conservative rabbi) was referring specifically...

Suddenly, a Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret, translated by Miriam Shlesinger, Sondra Silverston, and Nathan Englander

20 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Israeli, Short Stories, Translation

In spite of quite the impressive creative output including on the page (books, graphic novels, articles) and on celluloid (as both writer and director), I discovered Etgar Keret because of a house – the narrowest house (four feet at its widest!) in the world, wedged...

Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak by Deborah Ellis

18 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Canadian, Israeli, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Palestinian, Young Adult Readers

Given the latest headlines in the Middle East, this seems to be the perfect time for another Deborah Ellis title. Best known for her Breadwinner Trilogy (The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey, and Mud City) which became a tetralogy this fall with My Name is Parvana, Ellis is an...

Nora the Mind Reader by Orit Gidali, illustrated by Aya Gordon-Noy, translated by Annette Appel

13 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Israeli, Translation

What a relief to find out someone has finally found the magic wand! It might look like an ordinary bubble blower to some, but you just need to read to believe. Nora comes home from kindergarten one day and sadly tells her mother about the boy...

Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher

22 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Arab, Canadian, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Memoir, Nonfiction, Palestinian, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Guy Delisle is a graphic genius who draws what he sees – simply and unadornedly – with droll, minimal commentary, and creates some of the most poignant, effective, resonating memoirs ever. French Canadian Delisle has undoubtedly found international fame as a traveling artist: he recreated his temporary assignments...

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden

16 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Jewish, Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Having grown up Catholic (I'm still in recovery), nothing works better than leftover Catholic guilt to get me to do something I'm whinge-ing about. The supreme irony about my former Catholicism is...

Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco

10 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Israeli, Memoir, Nonfiction, Palestinian

On this eve of 9/11, I'm in a frustrated funk. Regardless of political, religious, cultural, or ethnic affiliations, I think most Americans are shaking their heads at the state of the world, and definitely not shaking enough hands; not enough of us have been able...

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