Thirst: The Desert Trilogy
It may be unfair to read Shulamith Hareven's historical fiction as an allegory of modern times, but it is difficult not to do so. All three stories inThirst: The Desert Trilogyare set during the period concurrent with the dramatic narrative of national trial contained in the Book of Exodus. Hareven's short stories are not concerned, however, with the well-known events that mark the Hebrews' time in the wilderness, though Moses and Joshua are both mentioned. Her attention is fixed on the base characters and the difficulties they face before reaching the Promised Land: one man loses his faith when the priests ignore issues of Justice; a young man learns that his father contemplated sacrificing him to settle accounts with God. Hareven, herself a committed political activist involved with Peace Now, may be conjuring the land and stories that shaped the Hebrew people, but her thoughts cannot be entirely unrelated to her hopes for today.