Modern Hebrew Fiction

This matchless history traces the development of a literature from its Eurpoean roots in the 1880s, when it had neither a country nor a spoken language, to its flowering on Israeli soil through the 1990s. The product of over 20 years research, it is unique in its scope, profiling four generations of writers. Through detailed discussions of the themes and styles in specific texts, Shaked conveys the richness of the Hebrew literary tradition. With biographical surveys, historical observations , and sociocultural and political analyses, he highlights the context within which the writings were produced, revealing the complex intertextual play between Hebrew literature and life. Translated by Yael Lotan and edited by Emily Miller Budick.