The Name

by Michal Govrin

Amelia, the troubled daughter of a concert pianist killed during the Holocaust, seeks refuge in an ultra-Orthodox seminary where she will fall under the erotic and spiritual spell of a charismatic Kabbalistic rabbi. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Born in Tel Aviv, MICHAL GOVRIN is the daughter of an Israeli pioneer father and a mother who survived the Holocaust. Working as a novelist, poet, and theater director, Govrin has published nine books of poetry and fiction. In 2010, she was named one of the thirty most important modern writers by the Salon du Livre. Among her novels, The Name received the Kugel Literary Prize in Israel and was nominated for the Koret Jewish Book Award. Snapshots was awarded the 2003 Acum Prize for the Best Literary Achievement of the Year. Govrin received the Israel Prime Minister's Prize in 1998. Among the pioneers of Jewish experimental theatre, Govrin has directed award-winning performances in all the major theatres in Israel.

Now residing in Jerusalem, Govrin teaches at the School of Visual Theater and is the academic chair of the Theater Department of Emunah College, both in Jerusalem. She has taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, presents an annual lecture at The Cooper Union School of Architecture in New York, and is a former Writer in Residence and Aresty Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for the Study of Jewish Life at Rutgers University.
"

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

In reality I only read about half of this novel. I found it unengaging and confusing - I did not connect with any of the characters and felt that the mystical Judaism described on the back cover was not easy to connect with at all. Perhaps this is because I am not a religious Jew myself and so didn't understand many of the cultural context clues. Either way I felt that it was not worth my time to finish reading every word of this.

[Sonia Engelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book. reaing it change my life, as only few books did.