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The Inheritance
Family can complicate everything – especially when there's money involved.
Orna's life is just starting to look up. The boyfriend she's been having doubts about has gone off to Paris for a year and she's finally free to pursue her lifelong dream of starting her own cosmetics business.
But when tragedy strikes and she is bequeathed with an unexpected, and quite frankly problematic inheritance, Orna's plans grind to a halt. Returning home to manage her mother's lingerie shop, Orna is confronted with a family feud she'd never expected.
As fractured relationships, broken promises, and secrets rise to the surface, Orna is left to wonder – how can she choose between family, success, money, and love? And can she possibly have it all?
Orna's life is just starting to look up. The boyfriend she's been having doubts about has gone off to Paris for a year and she's finally free to pursue her lifelong dream of starting her own cosmetics business.
But when tragedy strikes and she is bequeathed with an unexpected, and quite frankly problematic inheritance, Orna's plans grind to a halt. Returning home to manage her mother's lingerie shop, Orna is confronted with a family feud she'd never expected.
As fractured relationships, broken promises, and secrets rise to the surface, Orna is left to wonder – how can she choose between family, success, money, and love? And can she possibly have it all?
324 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2022
138 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2022
I found this story to be intriguing and confusing. It is filled with topics such as betrayal, family relationships, deception, money and love. Orna is a woman in transition. Her boyfriend is going to Paris for a period of time, and she will have the time to pursue her dreams. Right when she thinks she has it all planed misfortune strikes along with her life spiraling out of control. There is conflict between her and her sister along with betrayal of trust. Can one come back from the betrayal that Orna experiences from her sister and the man Orna was involved with? This story kept me glued to the pages and wanted to see how it would all play out. I am volunteering to leave a review for an Arc of this book for an honest review.
September 15, 2022
Disappointing with not vey likeable characters.
I had a hard time getting though this book. Overall , I found the major characters not only deep!y flawed but so unlikable. Usually I am a fast reader but it was hard for me to get into this book. I know that life is messy and families are complicated but this book never really ended. So many lies!
I had a hard time getting though this book. Overall , I found the major characters not only deep!y flawed but so unlikable. Usually I am a fast reader but it was hard for me to get into this book. I know that life is messy and families are complicated but this book never really ended. So many lies!
July 11, 2022
*I received an eARC of The Inheritance by Tova Elberg in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I'm going to be honest. This book was a little hard to read. But I think that can be mostly attributed to the fact that it was not originally written in English. The translation was awkward at times and it wasn't always clear when it changed points of view or jumped to a flashback.
However, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book! I read it very quickly. I loved the themes of family, money, and love. Life is hard. Struggles are inevitable. Forgiveness isn't always easy but if you can forgive, you free yourself more than the one you've forgiven. The Inheritance touches on all of those points beautifully. I loved the characters. I loved the Israeli culture. I loved the ending.
I'm going to be honest. This book was a little hard to read. But I think that can be mostly attributed to the fact that it was not originally written in English. The translation was awkward at times and it wasn't always clear when it changed points of view or jumped to a flashback.
However, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book! I read it very quickly. I loved the themes of family, money, and love. Life is hard. Struggles are inevitable. Forgiveness isn't always easy but if you can forgive, you free yourself more than the one you've forgiven. The Inheritance touches on all of those points beautifully. I loved the characters. I loved the Israeli culture. I loved the ending.
September 17, 2024
Disliked this book a great deal. I would have given it zero stars if I could have. The description of the story on the back cover is misleading, most of the characters are not likeable, and one character is despicable. Additionally, the translation is poor, confusing tenses even in the same sentence.
A big disappointment!
A big disappointment!
June 22, 2022
The intricacies of love, family, heritage and legacy
Israeli author Tova Elberg, born in Poland, is an artist in several categories – acting, poetry, painting, sculpting, and writing. Serving as an educator at the primary school level, she is now retired, and while continuing to be exhibited in art galleries, she now publishes her debut novel. Judith Yacov provides the translation from the Hebrew.
Tova bursts open her story with fervor – ‘I couldn’t move as a sharp pain shot through my lower back and left my legs feeling like dead weights. I was alone, in distress, and needed help, but I could not forgive the man I loved and did not call him to come. Very angry with him, I severed all our ties and resented him. I blamed my sister for everything that happened, distanced myself from her, and neither forgave nor went near her. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I could hardly get up to open it. Two strangers entered, looking embarrassed. “Hello, are you Orna Vardi?” they asked. “Yes.” “Can you show us your I.D.?” “Certainly,” I replied, and their expression grew serious….my only sister, Dana, had been killed in an accident on the highway. I heard myself saying: “But she was only twenty, and a newlywed.”…. The author’s screenwriting and acting talents are obvious as this incident opens her novel about family complexities.
The story speeds along rapidly, arresting attention with every page. The plot – ‘Orna's life is just starting to look up. The boyfriend she's been having doubts about has gone off to Paris for a year and she's finally free to pursue her lifelong dream of starting her own cosmetics business. But when tragedy strikes and she is bequeathed with an unexpected, and quite frankly problematic inheritance, Orna's plans grind to a halt. Returning home to manage her mother's lingerie shop, Orna is confronted with a family feud she'd never expected. As fractured relationships, broken promises, and secrets rise to the surface, Orna is left to wonder – how can she choose between family, success, money, and love? And can she possibly have it all?’
Colorful and cinematic, this is a story that serves not only as a fascinating romance and adventure, but also one that dissects familial conflicts in an entertaining way. This is a fine debut novel. Recommended.
Israeli author Tova Elberg, born in Poland, is an artist in several categories – acting, poetry, painting, sculpting, and writing. Serving as an educator at the primary school level, she is now retired, and while continuing to be exhibited in art galleries, she now publishes her debut novel. Judith Yacov provides the translation from the Hebrew.
Tova bursts open her story with fervor – ‘I couldn’t move as a sharp pain shot through my lower back and left my legs feeling like dead weights. I was alone, in distress, and needed help, but I could not forgive the man I loved and did not call him to come. Very angry with him, I severed all our ties and resented him. I blamed my sister for everything that happened, distanced myself from her, and neither forgave nor went near her. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I could hardly get up to open it. Two strangers entered, looking embarrassed. “Hello, are you Orna Vardi?” they asked. “Yes.” “Can you show us your I.D.?” “Certainly,” I replied, and their expression grew serious….my only sister, Dana, had been killed in an accident on the highway. I heard myself saying: “But she was only twenty, and a newlywed.”…. The author’s screenwriting and acting talents are obvious as this incident opens her novel about family complexities.
The story speeds along rapidly, arresting attention with every page. The plot – ‘Orna's life is just starting to look up. The boyfriend she's been having doubts about has gone off to Paris for a year and she's finally free to pursue her lifelong dream of starting her own cosmetics business. But when tragedy strikes and she is bequeathed with an unexpected, and quite frankly problematic inheritance, Orna's plans grind to a halt. Returning home to manage her mother's lingerie shop, Orna is confronted with a family feud she'd never expected. As fractured relationships, broken promises, and secrets rise to the surface, Orna is left to wonder – how can she choose between family, success, money, and love? And can she possibly have it all?’
Colorful and cinematic, this is a story that serves not only as a fascinating romance and adventure, but also one that dissects familial conflicts in an entertaining way. This is a fine debut novel. Recommended.
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July 20, 2022I was totally excited to read an Israeli author – it’s not often that I find a fellow compatriot on a secular book site. The translations into English do give a taste of the actual Hebrew expressions; some work in English better than others.
This family saga was very disheartening; the characters are all so broken and despondent. Even though I’ve lived in Israel for almost 10 years, my experience is completely different from her native-born characters. But her descriptions of situations and personalities seemed realistic enough for me. Too bad that the characters didn’t follow the author’s great advice that could apply to many situations:
‘Before you start something, first think about how it will end.’
The author certainly hit her mark in the Editorial Review:
‘Our families are meant to be supportive, protective - but it isn't always so. People are riddles, even those closest to you, be they family or friends. Even if you think you have them figured out, it's not always possible to truly understand someone.
Inner-family feuds is often a "taboo" of a subject - because of the shame. People would often want to save face rather than expose it. The will to control money, honor, sex - make relationships turn sour. Partners, family members, it doesn't matter. The fight over money destroys families. It can make even those closest to you turn their backs on you.’
I would add that one of the characters is a complete jerk – but nobody really seems to hold him/her accountable. Why do others keep expecting a change when they continue to enable? Valuable lesson to learn – better to learn it from a book than in real life.
This family saga was very disheartening; the characters are all so broken and despondent. Even though I’ve lived in Israel for almost 10 years, my experience is completely different from her native-born characters. But her descriptions of situations and personalities seemed realistic enough for me. Too bad that the characters didn’t follow the author’s great advice that could apply to many situations:
‘Before you start something, first think about how it will end.’
The author certainly hit her mark in the Editorial Review:
‘Our families are meant to be supportive, protective - but it isn't always so. People are riddles, even those closest to you, be they family or friends. Even if you think you have them figured out, it's not always possible to truly understand someone.
Inner-family feuds is often a "taboo" of a subject - because of the shame. People would often want to save face rather than expose it. The will to control money, honor, sex - make relationships turn sour. Partners, family members, it doesn't matter. The fight over money destroys families. It can make even those closest to you turn their backs on you.’
I would add that one of the characters is a complete jerk – but nobody really seems to hold him/her accountable. Why do others keep expecting a change when they continue to enable? Valuable lesson to learn – better to learn it from a book than in real life.
October 20, 2022
Did not finish. Tried. Found myself going back rereading pages time and time again. Story was very hard to follow.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews