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A rising star of international letters, Zeruya Shalev takes us on a compelling narrative journey in the exquisite and unsettling Husband and Wife. Na'ama and Udi Newman have many of the trappings of an idyllic shared existence. A couple since they were schoolchildren, they have grown together like vines and settled into a routine of calm domesticity, along with their young daughter, Noga. But in a scene worthy of Kafka, the quiet rhythms of their family life suddenly screech to a halt whenUdi wakes up one morning to find that he is unable to move his legs. The doctors quickly set about searching for a physical explanation, but it soon becomes painfully clear that his paralysis is a symptom of something far less tangible, and far more insidious than any of them had imagined. This one morning sets in motion a series of events that reveals a vicious cycle of jealousy, paranoia, resentment, and accumulated injuries that now threaten to tear the small family apart. Shaleve brilliantlycaptures the vulnerability and deceptive comforts of lives intertwined in this deeply disturbing portrait of a diseased marriage.… (more)
User reviews
Although the writing is lyrical and flowing, the sentences run on and on in a style which may not be to everyone’s liking. The narrative is written this way purposely to fuel the reader’s imagination with Na’ama’s innermost thoughts and concerns. What evolves from this is a detailed story of how one woman learns to be true to herself and discover her role in relation to the other important people in her life.