Book Review
On Her Own by Lihi Lapid; March 19, 2024: HarperVia, NetGalley
Genre: new adult, women's fiction, multicultural
In Tel Aviv, Israel, Nina escapes her abusive, married hoodlum boyfriend Johnny, after witnessing a murder he committed. Scared for her life and beaten up, she hides inside an apartment building, with nowhere to go and too scared to ask her single mom for help.
This is the story of Nina and her friendship with a lonely old woman, Carmela, who finds Nina cowering on the steps inside the apartment building and takes her in, effectively giving Nina a secure hiding place from Johnny. Nina and Carmela's relationship grows when Nina realizes that Carmela has creeping dementia and thinks that Nina is her beloved granddaughter from America. Carmela, living alone, desperately needs a caretaker, housekeeper, a cook.
Nina deals subtly with Carmela's longing for her only surviving son, Itamar, who had left Tel Aviv for America with his family six years before and delaying attention to his aged mother who was unwilling to join him in America.
I found it interesting that the novel is also a love story to Israel, intended for those who opt to stay in the country and even for those who leave it for a different, more opulent life in the U.S. or Europe.
The national and religious celebrations in Israel, which include Passover, Memorial Day and Independence Day, are described very clearly and well integrated into the plot. The novel is well written, informational about Israel, and the family conflicts and resolutions are quite moving.
In Tel Aviv, Israel, Nina escapes her abusive, married hoodlum boyfriend Johnny, after witnessing a murder he committed. Scared for her life and beaten up, she hides inside an apartment building, with nowhere to go and too scared to ask her single mom for help.
This is the story of Nina and her friendship with a lonely old woman, Carmela, who finds Nina cowering on the steps inside the apartment building and takes her in, effectively giving Nina a secure hiding place from Johnny. Nina and Carmela's relationship grows when Nina realizes that Carmela has creeping dementia and thinks that Nina is her beloved granddaughter from America. Carmela, living alone, desperately needs a caretaker, housekeeper, a cook.
Nina deals subtly with Carmela's longing for her only surviving son, Itamar, who had left Tel Aviv for America with his family six years before and delaying attention to his aged mother who was unwilling to join him in America.
I found it interesting that the novel is also a love story to Israel, intended for those who opt to stay in the country and even for those who leave it for a different, more opulent life in the U.S. or Europe.
The national and religious celebrations in Israel, which include Passover, Memorial Day and Independence Day, are described very clearly and well integrated into the plot. The novel is well written, informational about Israel, and the family conflicts and resolutions are quite moving.
I read and reviewed this book in 2023, and have just reread it not realizing I had already posted a review on NetGalley. Here it is now on my blog.
Currently Reading
Publication: March 24, 2026; Harper 360, NetGalley
Genre: sci fi, fantasy, adult fiction
I'm reading this fantasy where dreams come true, wishes are fulfilled, and the past is rectified. Thanks to a magical bookshop with a large blooming cherry tree overhanging it, and a young woman who gives out the right books to the right people who need it, and also thanks to a large calico cat that gives hints to visitors with meows and blinks.
Each chapter has different books to recommend and different people with their own unique regrets and wishes to fulfill. The book begins in spring when the cherry blossom tree is in full bloom and continues through all the seasons of the year
I finished the first chapter, in which a young manga artist gets comfort and inspiration from a visit with her dead mother, whose words of advice help her carry on. In the second chapter, a retired railway man battling increased forgetfulness keeps a promise to his wife, who died before he could show her the magnificent cherry blossom trees near an old, now disused railway line.
The stories are more than just fantasy. They incorporate wise sayings and ways of looking at life, the past, and coping with the present and the future.
What are you reading, watching, or listening to this week?
On Her Own sounds very compelling. I love how it pulled you in to re-read it too!
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese/Korean magical realism books are certainly having their moment. The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop sounds delightful.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a wonderful week
The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop sounds promising. Books like this walk a narrow line for me; I am always afraid a story like this can fall into being too sappy. It sounds like it did not do this for you, so I would probably enjoy it, too.
ReplyDeleteJust started '1916 - The Mornings After: From the Courts Martial to the Tribunals' by Tim Pat Coogan. I'm also reading 'Four Seasons in Japan' by Nick Bradley. Its a bit out of my normal reading but I'm really enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great week!
ReplyDelete