Simorgh – An Afghan Jew on the Silk Road. A Novel by Benzion D. Yehoshua
Simorgh tells the story of conflict and friendship in a Jewish-Muslim world. Revealing life in Afghanistan and Palestine in the first half of the 20th century, the novel brings together reality and imagination, cruelty and innocence, against the backdrop of the tensions between a Jewish minority and a Muslim majority. Following its main protagonist the novel juxtaposes two Jewish worlds: Afghanistan, where poverty prevails and daily life is a struggle to survive, and life in the Land of Israel, where despite all the hardship, there is a surprising amount of possibility.
edition-tethys: uebersetzungen / translations
Softcover, 423 Pages, (A5)
Language: English
22 Euro (+ shipping: within Germany 3,50 Euro / international by arrangement)
Bestellbar ab / Available from 01.03.2024
Bestellungen an / to order please e-mail to: loy(at)edition-tethys.org
oder über ihre Buchhandlung / the book can be ordered via your local bookshop
Payment through paypal or bank transfer – after receiving the book
ISBN: 978-3-942527-18-7
Praise for Simorgh
Eric Bloom (critic): „This is a fascinating historical-family-romantic novel that began about 100 years ago in Afghanistan and describes with sensitivity and rich language the transition from a traditional patriarchal world to a modern and democratic world… The book describes the difficulties, challenges and traumas experienced by a Jewish family.“
Prof. Nurit Govrin (Tel Aviv University): „Anyone exposed to the work of Ben-Zion Yehoshua is captivated by its charm… He provides a great deal of pleasure within a literary, linguistic, cultural and emotional experience… His great power lies in the sweeping and captivating plot and his talent to interest the reader in the story of real deeds and the destinies of people. The sentiments, the sex, the permitted and forbidden desires, are an inseparable part of the world of its heroes, men and women alike. He does not judge his characters but regards them with a mixture of identification, pity, mocking and a lot of humor… One eye cries tears of sadness, the other tears of joy. His ability to identify with the lives and suffering of his female characters reflects his great love for and gratitude to his mother.“