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Under Neon Lights: A Novel
It’s the late 1990s, and twenty-five-year-old Joshua, who has never been with a woman, is hungry for love. When he is not typing zip codes during the night shifts at a post office distribution center, he is visiting euphoric dance bars and desolated pubs in an attempt to meet women, only to be met with indifference and contempt. Then, one night, he meets Cynthia…
When the young woman arrives at the post office, she is shown to the computer next to Joshua’s. She speaks to him, and by that becomes the first person in the room to ever address him. As they stand together in the cold during their breaks he discovers a poetic, even tormented soul.
After a lifetime of living as an outsider, Joshua is invited inside the tasteful, artisanal life of Cynthia’s inner circle. He is so certain that if her extended hand touches his, neither will be alone again. But as he senses they are growing closer and closer, Joshua will soon learn that some things are just too good to be true.
When the young woman arrives at the post office, she is shown to the computer next to Joshua’s. She speaks to him, and by that becomes the first person in the room to ever address him. As they stand together in the cold during their breaks he discovers a poetic, even tormented soul.
After a lifetime of living as an outsider, Joshua is invited inside the tasteful, artisanal life of Cynthia’s inner circle. He is so certain that if her extended hand touches his, neither will be alone again. But as he senses they are growing closer and closer, Joshua will soon learn that some things are just too good to be true.
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 26, 2022
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April 27, 2022
‘All of a sudden I was gripped by a kind of urge, to live’ - A powerful new novel
Israeli author E. Samuel (the nom de plume for author/poet Eli Shmueli) has written highly regarded and awarded books in Israel – a book of poetry THE GOD THAT FAILED IS YOU and the novel THE POET AND THE STRIPPER – and now makes his novel UNDER NEON LIGHTS available in English, translated from the Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan. His awards include the Ministry of Culture Prize, the Goldberg Foundation prize, the Rabinovich Foundation Award, and the Pardes Fellowship of the National Library of Israel.
Samuel writes with an edgy pen, tackling raw and existential themes and characters, creating stories that burn brightly by being written darkly! His ability to capture the essence of a character is obvious as he opens with the following: “I starved all winter long, and when it was over I thought I’d never want to be full again. All through the winter I worked in a transparent room. I worked three or four nights a week and the rest of the time I was free, I never asked for more shifts, and even if I had, I don’t know if they would have given me any. In my free time I wandered around or stared at the ceiling…I had hobbies, too: going to the fat woman’s pub, borrowing a book from the library. Pondering. Mostly about loneliness…Fatal thoughts came into my mind. I scratched the flesh of my soul and pondered lonesomeness, picking at it like a scab.’
This dark figure is the driver of the novel, distilled as follows: ‘It’s the late 1990s, and twenty-five-year-old Joshua, who has never been with a woman, is hungry for love. When he is not typing zip codes during the night shifts at a post office distribution center, he is visiting euphoric dance bars and desolated pubs in an attempt to meet women, only to be met with indifference and contempt. Then, one night, he meets Cynthia…When the young woman arrives at the post office, she is shown to the computer next to Joshua’s. She speaks to him, and by that becomes the first person in the room to ever address him. As they stand together in the cold during their breaks he discovers a poetic, even tormented soul. After a lifetime of living as an outsider, Joshua is invited inside the tasteful, artisanal life of Cynthia’s inner circle. He is so certain that if her extended hand touches his, neither will be alone again. But as he senses they are growing closer and closer, Joshua will soon learn that some things are just too good to be true.’
Strange and fascinating, E. Samuel is introduced to the English reading audience as a distinctive author of note. His writing gifts are prodigious. Hopefully his other works (and new ones, too) will become available soon! Highly recommended.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book
Israeli author E. Samuel (the nom de plume for author/poet Eli Shmueli) has written highly regarded and awarded books in Israel – a book of poetry THE GOD THAT FAILED IS YOU and the novel THE POET AND THE STRIPPER – and now makes his novel UNDER NEON LIGHTS available in English, translated from the Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan. His awards include the Ministry of Culture Prize, the Goldberg Foundation prize, the Rabinovich Foundation Award, and the Pardes Fellowship of the National Library of Israel.
Samuel writes with an edgy pen, tackling raw and existential themes and characters, creating stories that burn brightly by being written darkly! His ability to capture the essence of a character is obvious as he opens with the following: “I starved all winter long, and when it was over I thought I’d never want to be full again. All through the winter I worked in a transparent room. I worked three or four nights a week and the rest of the time I was free, I never asked for more shifts, and even if I had, I don’t know if they would have given me any. In my free time I wandered around or stared at the ceiling…I had hobbies, too: going to the fat woman’s pub, borrowing a book from the library. Pondering. Mostly about loneliness…Fatal thoughts came into my mind. I scratched the flesh of my soul and pondered lonesomeness, picking at it like a scab.’
This dark figure is the driver of the novel, distilled as follows: ‘It’s the late 1990s, and twenty-five-year-old Joshua, who has never been with a woman, is hungry for love. When he is not typing zip codes during the night shifts at a post office distribution center, he is visiting euphoric dance bars and desolated pubs in an attempt to meet women, only to be met with indifference and contempt. Then, one night, he meets Cynthia…When the young woman arrives at the post office, she is shown to the computer next to Joshua’s. She speaks to him, and by that becomes the first person in the room to ever address him. As they stand together in the cold during their breaks he discovers a poetic, even tormented soul. After a lifetime of living as an outsider, Joshua is invited inside the tasteful, artisanal life of Cynthia’s inner circle. He is so certain that if her extended hand touches his, neither will be alone again. But as he senses they are growing closer and closer, Joshua will soon learn that some things are just too good to be true.’
Strange and fascinating, E. Samuel is introduced to the English reading audience as a distinctive author of note. His writing gifts are prodigious. Hopefully his other works (and new ones, too) will become available soon! Highly recommended.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book
Displaying 1 of 1 review