All the rivers
Subtitle: a novel
By: Dorit Rabinyan ; translated by Jessica Cohen
Contributors: Cohen, Jessica (Translator)
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 264
ISBN-13: 9780375508295
Subjects: Man-woman relationships; Israelis; Jewish-Arab relations; Palestinian arabs; Palestinian Arabs; Fiction
Work titles: Gader ḥayah
Description: "A controversial, award-winning story about the passionate but untenable affair between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man, from one of Israel's most acclaimed novelists. When Liat meets Hilmi on a blustery autumn afternoon in Greenwich Village, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Charismatic and handsome, Hilmi is a talented young artist from Palestine. Liat, an aspiring translation student, plans to return to Israel the following summer. Despite knowing that their love can be only temporary, that it can exist only away from their conflicted homeland, Liat lets herself be enraptured by Hilmi: by his lively imagination, by his beautiful hands and wise eyes, by his sweetness and devotion. Together they explore the city, sharing laughs and fantasies and pangs of homesickness. But the unfettered joy they awaken in each other cannot overcome the guilt Liat feels for hiding him from her family in Israel and her Jewish friends in New York. As her departure date looms and her love for Hilmi deepens, Liat must decide whether she is willing to risk alienating her family, her community, and her sense of self for the love of one man. Banned from classrooms by Israel's Ministry of Education, Dorit Rabinyan's remarkable novel contains multitudes. A bold portrayal of the strains -- and delights -- of a forbidden relationship, All the Rivers (published in Israel as Borderlife) is a love story and a war story, a New York story and a Middle East story, an unflinching foray into the forces that bind us and divide us. "The land is the same land," Hilmi reminds Liat. "In the end all the rivers flow into the same sea." International praise for All the Rivers : "I'm with Dorit Rabinyan. Love, not hate, will save us. Hatred sows hatred, but love can break down barriers."--Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature "Even the (asymmetrical) tragedy of the two peoples does not overwhelm this precise and elegant love story, drawn with the finest of lines. There are many astonishing things about this book."--Amos Oz "Rabinyan is a generous writer who puts her characters first. Rabinyan's writing reflects the honesty and modesty of a true artisan."--Ha'aretz "Rabinyan juggles cultures, languages, art forms, places, times, and seasons. Because the novel strikes the right balance between the personal and the political, and because of her ability to tell a suspenseful and satisfying story, we decided to award Dorit Rabinyan's [All the Rivers] the 2015 Bernstein Prize."--the 2015 Bernstein Prize judges' decision "[All the Rivers] ought to be read like J.M. Coetzee or Toni Morrison -- from a distance in order to get close. We might be born Montague or Capulet, but we can choose not to be part of the tragedy."--Walla! "Beautiful and sensitive, a human tale of rapprochement and separation. a noteworthy human and literary achievement."--Makor Rishon "A captivating (and heartbreaking) gem, written in a spectacular style, with a rich, flowing, colorful and addictive language."--Motke "Rabinyan's ability to create a rich realism alongside a firm, clear and convincing flow of emotional fluctuations. gives the work a literary momentum and makes the reading both compelling and enjoyable."--Ynet "A great novel of love and peace."--La Stampa "A novel that truly speaks to the heart."--Corriere della Sera"--

"One day, in the cold of early New York winter, a chance encounter brings two strangers together: Hilmi, a Palestinian born in Hebron, and an Israeli woman called Liat. A promising young translator, Liat plans to study in New York for six months and then return home to Tel Aviv. Immediately drawn to the charismatic, passionate, and kind Hilmi, Liat decides that their connection will be -- can only be -- an affair, a short-lived but intense memento of her frozen winter away from home. But their passionate fling deepens into love, and Liat and Hilmi find themselves caught between their desire for each other and their duties to their families; between the possibility of creating a life together and the fear that Israelis and Palestinians are supposed to be enemies. And as the weeks and days slip by, Liat and Hilmi must decide whether their love is worth risking the disapproval of their families, their friends and even their government. Written by one of Israel's most acclaimed contemporary authors, All The Rivers is a powerful, deeply intimate Romeo and Juliet story for our times"--
Notes: Originally published in Hebrew as Gader ḥayah (Tel Aviv : ʻAm ʻoved, 2014).

Translation from the Hebrew of: Gader hayah.