The One Facing Us

by Ronit Matalon

Esther, seventeen years old, wild and rebellious, is sent from Israel to Cameroon to stay with her hardheaded uncle Sicourelle, who is charged with straightening her out. But Esther resists her uncle's plans for her future--which include marriage to a cousin--and in the privileged indolence of postcolonial Africa, she looks to the past instead. Using sepia portraits and scraps of letters, Esther pieces together the history of her family, a once-grand Egyptian-Jewish clan, and its displacement from Cairo in the 1950s to Israel, West Africa, and New York.

As the worn photographs yield their secrets, Esther uncovers a rich tale of wives and ex-wives; revolving mistresses and crushing marriages; intrigues and disappointments; poignant contrasts between the living past and the dead present. In sensuous, inventive prose, Matalon penetrates the mysteries of cultural exile and family life to produce a first novel that is mature, authentic, and deeply moving.

Genres: Jewish, Israel, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Ronit Matalon, the author of The One Facing Us and Bliss, among other books, was one of Israel’s foremost writers. Her work was been translated into six languages and honored with the prestigious Bernstein Award; the French publication of The Sound of Our Steps won the Prix Alberto-Benveniste for 2013. A journalist and critic, Matalon taught comparative literature and creative writing at Haifa University and at the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem.

Reviews

[Kristine Brancolini · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're discussing The One Facing Us tomorrow in my Jewish Book Group. I'm anxious to hear everyone's reaction to the book. It's not likely to be wildly popular. Too quirky. No real plot. But I loved it. Matalon uses family snapshots of her own family to create a fictional portrait of a family that probably shares many characteristics. The Sicourelle family is originally from Egypt, but most of the family emigrates to Israel, while one uncle moves to Cameroon, where he marries a French widow with a young son. The book swirls around 16-year-old Esther's visit to her Uncle Sicourelle in Cameroon in 1976. This becomes the pivot point for moving backward and foreward in time filling in the story of both sides of Esther's family. The photographs -- snapshots, really, not studio portraits -- begin each chapter and photos of real people guide us on this odyssey. All of these characters are Jewish, but they are non-observant. They have been influenced by attending Christian schools and living among Muslims most of their lives. Esther's father Robert is Egyptian first and Jewish second. While living in Israel, as a Sephardic Jew, he identifies more closely with the Arabs than with the ruling elite, who are Ashkenazi Jews. I found the book to be utterly fascinating, unlike any other I have ever read.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. An unconventionally told story of roots and family about a Jewish family from Cairo who emigrate, first to Israel in the 1940s and then on to France, New York, and Africa. Their story is told through a series of meditations on family snapshots. It’s quite provocative in it’s way, almost a reverse diaspora where Egypt is the homeland and Israel is the place of exile.

[Netta]

העלילה נשמעה לי כל כך מעניינת, עד כי רכשתי את הספר, אך למרבה אכזבתי, לא הצלחתי לצלוח אפילו רבע ממנו, וניסיתי פעם אחר פעם.
כל זה היה לפני שנים, ומאז אני כבר לא רוכשת ספרים אלא רק משאילה בספריה, אבל עדיין זוכרת את האכזבה מכך שלא הצלחתי לקרוא את הספר המסוים הזה.

[Jonele · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author uses photographs to tell the story so it feels like a cross between an autobiography and a novel. It had a strange chapter that didn't seem to fit in with the book; I read it twice and not only did I not understand it, but it seemed to have nothing to do with the main idea, which is Esther being kept "forcibly" by her uncle to marry her cousin. This really needed more character development to help understand, not only the story, but the motivations of the characters. Instead it seemed, though interesting, choppy at best, downright confusing at worst.

[Hermien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love complicated family histories, particularly ones like this dealing with the Cairo Jewish community and their move to other parts of the world. The story develops through descriptions of various photographs which gives it a biographical feel although the pictures are not of the author's family.

[Bookguide · Rating 3 out of 5]

n Israeli teenager whose father grew up in Egypt is sent to stay with her relatives in colonial Cameroon. With a complicated past of Sephardic Jewish and Arabic influences, attending Christian schools, having lived in different countries, with a privileged background, the semi-autobiographical narrator uses family snapshots to revive memories and stories about her extended family. A good premise, but somehow hard-going.

[Yam T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful novel. A family saga about a Jewish Egyptian family. Through young Esther's narrations, that deciphers her family albums' photographs, it tells the history of the family almost as a riddle that leaves many fragments of the puzzle missing. Throughout the novel, writing style of Matalon, back then a young writer in the beginning of her career, becomes mature, similarly to the character of Esther.

[Mikko Peralta · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a very slow and dragging read, with nothing much happening until the very end.

The idea of telling a story through photographs is something that I like. This however, reminds me of telling a story through recipes (Esquivel). And it is not a good thing.

[Ilana Diamant · Rating 1 out of 5]

unreadable