Please join us on October 18th at 7 p.m. for our October book club meeting. Ben Glovinsky will be reviewing the book, "Friendly Fire: A Duet" by A.B. Yehoshua:
The wryly funny and morally inquisitive Israeli writer Yehoshua considers the implications of “friendly fire,” a fraught expression if ever there was one, in this many-tiered novel of a long-married couple separated during Hanukkah. The holiday candle flames are friendly, bringing loved ones together. But Israelis often celebrate Hanukkah in the midst of violence, and war has shadowed the otherwise colorful family of Daniela and Ya’ari. Daniela, a pixieish high-school English teacher, has gone to Tanzania to stay with her brother-in-law after the sudden death of her sister. Her husband is soon overwhelmed by the demands of his children, grandchildren, Parkinson’s-afflicted father, the family elevator-design business, and two baffling cases of wailing elevators. Deeply moved by Africa, Daniela is dismayed to discover that her brother-in-law is grieving not for her sister but for his son, killed years ago by so-called friendly fire. As in each of his wisely tragicomic novels, Yehoshua orchestrates nearly absurd predicaments that serve as conduits to Israel’s confounding conflicts, which so intensely and sorrowfully encapsulate our endless struggle for peace and belonging.
Newcomers always welcome!
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