Laish

In some sort of translation trompe l’oeil, this work appears longer in English and the book heavier and more substantial. The Hebrew original (published in 1994) appeared shorter and slimmer, not quite a novel and almost a long parable. Perhaps English, the language that mothered the novel, arguably more wordy and nuanced than its Semitic counterpart, helps to give the work a more novelistic air. Reading the same book in two different languages is always a peculiar experience: familiar sentences take on a new tone; things, barely noticeable, are added or taken away; and still, it is the same Laish.