THE BOOK FAIR

Spurts of lyrical writing mixed with violent imagery hover over the symbolic story of the quest for love and home.  The novel weaves the tale of a young couple’s love during Israel’s war of Independence and the story of a young man’s journey decades later, to find his place in life, largely dominated by his mother.

Picturesque descriptions of Israel during the different periods invoke realistic visions of the not so distant past.  Poetic verse of soft hued tones turns in an instant to acute violence.

Remarkably clear is the intense devotion of the pigeon handlers for their birds and the extraordinary role pigeons played in wars.

In vivid contrast, the author portrays the excitement shown for other birds, by bird watching tourists, the protagonist’s bread and butter, and the ultimate insensitivity shown to pigeons.

Symbolically, as pigeons always return home, so do Jews return to Eretz-Israel.