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Books

Israel's Shani Boianjiu in the running for top U.K. book award

Boianjiu, 25, is longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her first book, 'The People of Forever Are Not Afraid.'

By Maya Sela | Mar 14, 2013 | 02:53 AM

How a young Israeli woman became an acclaimed English author
By David B. Green | 2

Levantine travel narratives that roam far and wide

Exoticism and the Levant are the common threads running through two intriguing works, in English, discovered fortuitously by this writer.

By Benny Ziffer | Mar 8, 2013 | 10:29 AM

Doing justice to Josephus, ancient Jewish archetype

Though recognized universally today as the most important historical source about life in Second Temple-period Judea, not long ago Josephus was the black sheep of the Jewish family. Frederic Raphael tells his story, and finds added meaning in it.

By Samuel Thrope | Mar 5, 2013 | 04:50 PM | 3

In the name of the daughter

In a searing work that hovers between memoir and novel, Brazilian writer Bernardo Kucinski describes the ordeal endured by his own father as he sought clues to the disappearance of a daughter in the 1970s at the hands of the country’s dictatorship.

By David Lehmann | Mar 5, 2013 | 02:31 PM

New book sheds light on Kabbalah scholar's tragic descent into madness

Joseph Weiss was probably Gershom Scholem's greatest student, and the teacher has long been blamed for his tragic fate. However, a newly published collection of their letters reveals a different picture.

By Henry Wasserman | Mar 2, 2013 | 05:50 PM | 2

Israeli artist's true-to-form tale of incarceration in Libya

Despite his humorous approach, Rafram Chaddad's choice to tell his story in the present tense almost completely canceled out the distanced dimension that could have sparked readers' interest.

By Yonatan Raz Portugali | Mar 2, 2013 | 04:00 PM

Israel's top literary award, Sapir Prize, goes to Shimon Adaf

Sapir Prize coveted not only for the 150,000 shekels it carries, but for its reputation as a serious sales booster.

By Haaretz | Feb 17, 2013 | 11:28 PM

The wonder of Shai Agnon, now in vivid image

Shay Charka’s graphic novel doesn’t settle for a simplistic illustration of Agnon’s stories, but rather proffers its own bold interpretation.

By Masha Zur Glozman | Feb 14, 2013 | 12:33 PM

How I learned to love ‘The Kuzari’

Micah Goodman asks us to go back to Yehuda Halevy’s medieval treatise and read it in a different way: not as a book expressing Jewish supremacy, but as a continuing dialogue about universal, humanistic trends integral to Judaism.

By Yuval Elbashan | Feb 14, 2013 | 12:11 PM

How a young Israeli woman became an acclaimed English author

Shani Boianjiu grew up in Kfar Vradim and never imagined the success her first novel would have. In an interview with Haaretz, she confides: 'Ninety-nine percent of what I write wouldn’t happen'.

By David B. Green | Feb 13, 2013 | 04:44 PM | 2

‘Shana Tova’ from the United States: New Year’s cards from the early 20th century.

The Yiddish world of shtetl America

Israeli literature was willing to embrace poignant stories in Yiddish about shtetl life, but had a hard time stomaching ones about secure Jewish existence in America. The new short-story anthology ‘America’ helps fill in the gaps.

By Shira Stav | Feb 13, 2013 | 10:58 AM

Don't judge an old book by its cover, judge it by its poster

Hundreds of vintage book advertisements, printed all over Israel between the 1930s and the 1950s, are now available online thanks to a new National Library of Israel project.

By Ofer Aderet | Feb 12, 2013 | 02:42 AM

In Jerusalem (the City of Books), a Spaniard is crowned

Antonio Munoz Molina accepts the Jerusalem Prize at the Jerusalem International Book Fair on Sunday, rejecting pressure to culturally boycott Israel in protest of its policies.

By Ilene Prusher | Feb 11, 2013 | 11:05 AM | 4

Arts & Leisure

In a flurry of telegrams, Israeli diplomats respond to 'The Gatekeepers'

By Barak Ravid | 12:26 PM | 16

Israel's yummy girl just wants to have fun

By Amy Klein | 11:16 AM

Portrait of a performance artist as her own biggest fan

By Daniel Rauchwerger | 07:58 PM

Jerusalem Book Fair 2013

Great writers in tiny spaces

By Ilene Prusher | 08:12 AM

Yearning for the light

By Anna Herman | 01:13 PM

Rabbi Amsellem’s indictment: the story of a Shas breakaway, in his own words

By Shahar Ilan | 01:21 PM

Food & Wine

Putting Asian nuances on the plate

By Dafna Arad | 08:04 PM

Recipes / Delayed reaction

By Hedai Offaim | 04:57 PM

Bringing Jews together through food (never underestimate the power of lox)

By Vered Guttman | 06:41 PM

Travel in Israel

Tourist tip #194 / Mitzpe Revivim

The Negev desert in winter and springtime is famous for its wildflowers and temperate climate; the weather is perfect at this...

By Miriam Feinberg Vamosh | 07:40 AM

Tourist tip #193 / Mitzpe Azuz and the southwestern Negev

Next to the word remote in the dictionary is probably a picture of Mitzpe Azuz, the tiny community in southwestern Negev. It’s...

By Miriam Feinberg Vamosh | 07:56 AM

Tourist tip #192 / Shwarma, that delectable Mideast classic

Street food in Israel can be wonderful, and has little in common with fast food in the United States. Flavors tend to be stronger...

By Ruth Schuster | 01:12 PM | 2