A Wall of Light

Overview

A powerful and unforgettable story of secrets, family, love, and destiny set against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Following on the heels of the critically acclaimed Ten Thousand Lovers (finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award) and Look for Me, A Wall of Light tells the story of three generations of a Tel Aviv family. Meet Anna, whose passionate letters to a lover she left behind in Russia describe the experiences of Israel's postwar immigrants; her grandson, Noah, who in his diary documents his uncertain sexual identity and his idealism in the face of the tense political climate; and finally, Anna's daughter, Sonya, who takes us through one momentous day in August, a day on which she "kissed a student, pursued a lover, found her father, and left her brother."

Editorial Reviews

Ravel's third novel chronicles a belated emotional and sexual coming-of-age for 32-year-old Israeli math professor Sonya Vronsky. Rounding out the cast of characters are Sonya's mother, Anna, a Russian immigrant to Israel in the 1950s, and Sonya's nephew, Noah. Anna tells her story through letters to the married lover she left behind in Russia, while Noah expresses his experiences as a sexually ambivalent adolescent in 1980s Israel in diary form. Though Ravel strives for historical panorama with the shifting chronological perspectives, the novel's pace decelerates whenever Anna or Noah take center stage-Sonya's story is the most compelling though the least credible. Deafened by childhood illness, Sonya was further traumatized when she was raped and beaten as a teenager. With no sexual experience other than the rape, she considers herself a virgin and determines to change her life by seducing an Arabic taxi driver. Sonya spends the rest of the novel pursuing him through the Palestinian neighborhoods of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, a plot Ravel uses to illuminate Israel's deep racial and political strife. Ravel is not a subtle storyteller, but some readers may feel engaged by the sympathetic nature of Sonya's character, as well as by the complex, tense backdrop of modern-day Israel. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Author Information

Bio of Edeet Ravel

Edeet Ravel was born on an Israeli kibbutz and completed graduate studies in English at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is the recipient of several writing awards, including the Norma Epstein Award for her poetry. She holds a Ph.D. in Jewish studies from McGill University and has taught creative writing, English literature, Holocaust studies and biblical exegesis. She has one daughter.

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Additional Info

Imprint

HarperCollins Publishers

Filesize

703.85 KB

Number of Pages

288

eBook ISBN

9780061932496

Awards

• Commonwealth Writers Prize
• Giller Prize