Light Fell

by Evan Fallenberg

Paperback, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

PS3606.A43L54 2009

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Description

Twenty years have passed since Joseph left behind his entire life--his wife Rebecca, his five sons, his father, and the religious Israeli farming community where he grew up--when he fell in love with a man, the genius rabbi Yoel Rosenzweig. Their affair is long over, but its echoes continue to reverberate through the lives of Joseph, Rebecca, and their sons in ways that none of them could have predicted. Now, for his fiftieth birthday, Joseph is preparing to have his five sons and the daughter-in-law he has never met spend the Sabbath with him in the Tel Aviv penthouse that he shares with a man--who is conveniently out of town that weekend. This will be the first time Joseph and all his sons will be together in nearly two decades. The boys' lives have taken widely varying paths. While some have become extremely religious, another is completely cosmopolitan and secular, and their feelings toward their father range from acceptance to bitter resentment. As they prepare for this reunion, Joseph, his sons, and even Rebecca, must confront what was, what is, and what could have been.… (more)

Media reviews

San Francisco Chronicle

As it stands, "Light Fell" is a brief but touching novel. Despite certain moments of unevenness, it raises brave questions about the nature of family and betrayal, rupture and healing.

— 2 more

Cleveland Jewish News

It takes place, as does much contemporary Israeli fiction, in a world of constant argument and frustration, where, everyday life is fraught with disappointment and every personal decision could and probably will set off unanticipated clashes with other people’s cultural, religious or economic

realities. In a world where disappointment and loss are seen as constants, resignation is the philosophical stance these characters prefer.

Show Less

Jewish Daily Forward

Evan Fallenberg’s elegant first novel, “Light Fell,” is itself full of substantive light. Light that is sometimes bent or deflected by the gravity of law and tradition, a difficult luminosity that in Fallenberg’s deft hands remains metaphorically complex.

User reviews

LibraryThing member -Eva-

Fallenberg is an amazing writer - it seems that translating Hebrew fiction has helped him accomplish a very distinct voice, which borrows influences (and expressions) from both Hebrew and English. Apart from the poetic language, what this novel really wins on is its characters. At the forefront is

of course Joseph's struggle between his religion and his love (and the added "bonus" of his homosexuality), which is portrayed with a really fine sensitivity (even though the scenes with him and Rabbi Rosenzweig tend toward the schmaltzy). However, what stands out is Fallenberg's treatment of the five sons and their extreme differences, which he manages to portray not only plausibly but with so much humanity that you do feel like they are real people copied onto paper. Does it have a down-side? Yes, the ending is a little deus ex machina with Daniel producing the explanatory letter from Rosenzweig, but for a debut novel, I'll give it two thumbs up and I'll definitely look out for Fallenbergs next novel.

Show Less

1 more

LibraryThing member Rdra1962

Could have been a better told story if the author had focused more on the issue of being gay in Israel, or in the Jewish community rather than a lousy, selfish Dad trying to maintain any connection with the 5 sons he abused, abandoned.

Fewer