Book description
In Jerusalem, two Arabs are on the hunt for the same identity. The
first is a wealthy lawyer with a thriving practice, a large house, a
Mercedes and a beautiful family. With a sophisticated image to uphold,
he decides one evening to buy a second-hand Tolstoy novel recommended
by his wife - but inside it he finds a love letter, in Arabic,
undeniably in her handwriting. Consumed with jealous rage, the lawyer
vows to take his revenge on the book's previous owner.
Elsewhere in the city, a young social worker is struggling to make
ends meet. In desperation he takes an unenviable job as the night-time
carer of a comatose young Jew. Over the long, dark nights that follow,
he pieces together the story of his enigmatic patient, and finds that
the barriers that ought to separate their lives are more permeable
than he could ever have imagined.
As they venture further into deception, dredging up secrets and
ghosts both real and imagined, the lawyer and the carer uncover the
dangerous complexities of identity - as their lies bring them ever
closer together.
Sayed Kashua
was born in 1975 and is the author of the novels
Dancing Arabs
and
Let It Be Morning
, which was shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He has a
weekly column in
Haaretz
and is the creator of
Arab Labour
, one of Israel's most popular sitcoms. Kashua has won a number of
prizes for his writing, including the prestigious Bernstein Prize, which
he won in 2011 with this novel. He lives in Jerusalem with his family.
