by Sarah Blau
Translated from the Hebrew by Daniella Zamir
Published by Pushkin Vertigo Crime Imprint of Pushkin Press
Cover artwork & design by Mark Swan
As part of this exciting Pushkin Vertigo crime series Blog Tour, it's my turn to review 'The Others'. This tour also comes in Women in Translation month & 'The Others' is another fascinating example of a translated novel, brought to us by Pushkin Press.
To translate a full novel & retain its original intensity & true, dark sense of story is such a very special skill.
Though set in modern-day Israel, we're immersed in life's complexities deeply buried in Hebrew traditions.
The story is delivered to us through Sheila's character narration, keeping the elements linked & the reader engrossed, intrigued & sometimes uncomfortable. She works in the Bible Museum in Tel Aviv, a thread that connects us to the background of biblical women, women of the Torah & the four friends who made a choice & pact to live their lives child-free.
Over time, shocking & brutal deaths make Sheila question everything & wonder if she might be next. How can this even be happening to her friend group? This stuff only happens in films or to other people, but now it's real & happening to 'The Others' - her actual friends.
With variations in pace & time-shift flashbacks to their younger days this definitely kept my attention. Is there a ritualistic factor linking these deaths? How can a serial killer even be something in Sheila's life? This isn't how they'd panned their lives.
A fancy-dress Purim party set the tone for their future but time, events & police involvement would shake their world beyond recognition. The life of women shouldn't represent a ticking time-bomb but the reality is that society & tradition expect certain patterns. 'Tick tock - No tot' is an echo woven into the eerie tension of this story. The world seems like one big Passover table surrounded by nosy aunts.
'The Others' is Sarah Blau's fourth novel but the first to be translated into English.
It's definitely not your typical thriller - but who's looking for that!? Will your mind play tricks on you whilst you wonder if someone is a potential victim or an actual suspect? What is the shocking truth?
Pushkin Press has released another gem into the world that opens our eyes & minds to another cultural parallel that ripples through every human life. We should be glad that translation by Daniella Zamir means so many more people are able to experience this thrilling work by Sarah Blau.
* Pushkin Vertigo Blog Tour (book trio) photo: Pushkin Press *
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