Meir Shalev, described as one of Israel’s most celebrated novelists, has penned The Loves of Judith, which is now available in paperback from Schocken Books. The story is narrated by Zayde (“That wasn’t a nickname that stuck to me, but my real name”), who recounts the life of his mother, Judith, and the three men who loved her: Moshe, a widowed farmer; Globerman, a wealthy cattle dealer; and Jacob, who loses his wife because of his obsession with Judith. All three consider Zayde their son, and it’s up to him to piece together the history of the mysterious woman who was his mother, and who arrived in a small village in Palestine in the 1930s. — E.E.B.
(American Jewish World, 8.17.12)
