The Book of Israel

by Jeremy Gavron

Dunsk, Lithuania, 1874: brought home dying from the mill, an old man leaves his new grandson the only thing of value he owns - his name.In one Jewish family, the forename Israel is handed down from generation to generation. But as parts of the family move across the world - beginning in Lithuania at the end of the 19th century and finishing in London at the beginning of the 21st - different Israels in different countries have very different relationships with the name and the weighty expectations it represents.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Historical Fiction, Middle East

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jeremy Gavron is the author of six books, including the novels The Book of Israel, winner of the Encore Award, and An Acre of Barren Ground; and A Woman on the Edge of Time, a memoir about his mother’s suicide. He lives in London, and teaches on the MFA at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina.

Reviews

[MacDara Conroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could be considered a slightly more accessible relation to Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated. In comparison, Gavron's approach is conventionally chronological but more boldly epistolary. However, while the structure engages, overall the characters do not; as the story unfolds, there are simply too many, and we learn less and less about them.

[Hamish Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed getting a glimpse of all the different family members over the course of 127 years. The shift of the Jewish traditions from generation to generation was interesting too. Some of the chapters were easier to follow than others. It was like the reader had to put the puzzle together themselves, but overall, a good read.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book as a quick read. I liked the way the author, would use a character in this growing family over generations, to be the subject of a new chapter. His style of writing, and using letters and quotes in the book was also well done.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it very much, because it was exiting to put the story together in my own head as reading different monologues, letters, descriptions and so on. Reccomend it!

[7san Jamous · Rating 2 out of 5]

the parts that were like one person only conversing were very nice. i enjoyed reading them. the rest of the book and the story didn't do much for me.

[John Hills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a book that spans across generations and places over many years and that's exactly what this delivered. We start in Lithuania and move through Europe to the Leylands of Leeds (my favourite part) South Africa, London, Oxord and Israel. Each place and time has a different experience for the characters and various forms of discrimination. We see strong Jewish identity gradually water down over the years until the newer generations are either completely ignorant of them or actively avoiding them, I liked how Gavron worked this. It did feel like there were a lot of characters and I had to sometimes check the family tree at the start of the book to remember who was related to who, but also I liked how they would all be connected and the characters who were central at the start of the story would become a footnote in the later generations. Great read