Candies from Heaven

by Gil Hovav, Ira Moskowitz (Translator)

In his native Israel, Gil Hovav is beloved as a special national cultural treasure. Now, finally, with this deft translation of his utterly charming story collection that comes laced with 21 mouthwatering recipes, English-speaking readers will be able to appreciate why. Hovav is a masterful storyteller, a born raconteur. An unforgettable gallery of colorful uncles, aunts, and other family member—with food woven through as a lemotif--makes these autobiographical accounts of growing up in Jerusalem in the 60s and 70s read like short stories in the great tradition of Sholem Aleichem: tales told with great wisdom, tenderness, insight, and wit as tart as a bowl of Yemenite pickles. And who wouldn’t salivate over Hovav’s family recipes for sweet sour chorba tomato soup or his Aunt Levana’s eggplant and feta bourekas? Dig in, dear readers, pleasure is served.

Genres: Memoir

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2017

Reviews

[新新 Xin-Xin · Rating 2 out of 5]

這本書的 review 太少了，來多說一點。


我不喜歡外語直接音譯還要查備註，故事可愛可愛但看得有點意興闌珊⋯⋯不過想想這個抱怨同時也是本書特色，只是我不太喜歡，之前看熊與夜鶯的時候也一直希望不要出現音譯再備註，畢竟數量實在太多了～但英文或外文小說好像就是遇到外來語直接放上去？

其實認為故事很好，但我就跨不過那個坎，不過真的拿掉音譯外來語又會少了一味（這也是我喜歡多語言夾雜的小說用聽的的原因之一）

[Reuben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best cookbook ever.

Fantastic, heartwarming short stories that capture a piece of the Israeli childhood.

What a cast of characters! They're all so eccentric. I feel like I got to know the Hovav family over the course of the novel. It's almost as if I spent the duration of my read living with them.

Absolutely loved the last story. Mooma is my favorite book character of the year.

The translation is terrible, which is unfortunate because the original Hebrew's prose is more than fantastic. It even butchered "מזמור ליקנטון" ("Ode to the Hyacinth Garden") by Lea Goldberg, Hebrew's most renown poet. The original is a heartwarming lullaby, and it holds a special place in my heart. The translation is barely words on a page.

Wonderful, well-written novel but I can't recommend this version unfortunately. Unless you just want to use it for the recipes, which are great too.

4.5/5

Knocking off a .5 for the translation. Sad.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming tales of one of Israel's most storied families....from Eliezar Ben Yehudah, the author's grandfather and the man who single handedly revived Hebrew as a modern spoken language to the author himself, one of Israel's most renowned chefs....fun read.

[Stuart Schnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book which literally will have you laughing out loud. I read the book as I am the publicist (full disclosure) and found myself just laughing. Out loud. I was talking about the book with a blogger and she told me she read the book on a plane and got looks from other passengers as she was chuckling non-stop. The book is Israel's #1 foodies memoir of growing up in the sleepy, small Jerusalem of the 1960's and 70's. At times it is hard to believe there are so many eccentric characters in one family but the way Gil tells a story I think he could make any family seem interesting. There are recipes at the end of each story which are somehow connected to the take just shared. This is a fun read and considering how 'heavy' many books from Israel can be, it is a change from the usual fare.

[Frankie Cronin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories are not my favorite genre but this was actually a collection of memories from his childhood, surrounded by colourful characters making up the author’s nuclear and wider family.
It includes a fascinating look into life in Israel as the State was created and life in Jerusalem, Tiberias and other towns.
Told with his special brand of humour which had me laughing out loud at some points.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this — it was sweet and charming. My only criticism is that I wish there was a family tree to refer back to! Also would have loved photos, although the illustrations were lovely.

[Sara Gabai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, and a good translation.

[Judy Zingher]

Charming book. Shares my sensibility, somehow. Not a children's book, but in contact with his child mind, and of course his zany family.

Touching, in the end. A beautiful memoir of a recent time already past.