Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Husband and Wife: A Novel
Husband and Wife: A Novel
Husband and Wife: A Novel
Ebook374 pages6 hours

Husband and Wife: A Novel

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

From the Israeli author of Love Life: “a highly polished and . . . beautifully written story that carries great weights of meaning” (Kirkus Reviews).
 
Zeruya Shalev achieved international literary stardom with her novel Love Life, which The Washington Post Book World called “a brutally honest and often brilliant tour of individual and family psychology.” In Husband and Wife, she takes us into the heartbreak and compromise of a diseased marriage that may or may not be capable of healing.
 
Na’ama and Udi Newman, together with their young daughter Noga, lead a quiet domestic life. But their idyll abruptly ends when Udi—a perfectly healthy man—wakes up one morning unable to move his legs. The doctors can find no physical explanation for his paralysis. It appears to be a symptom, not of illness, but of something far more insidious. This mysterious disruption soon reveals a vicious cycle of jealousy, paranoia, resentment, and accumulated injuries that now threaten to tear their small family apart.
 
In a rush of hallucinogenic imagery, Husband and Wife captures the vulnerability and deceptive comforts of lives intertwined, offering “an acutely intimate portrait of a relationship” (Donna Rifkind, The Baltimore Sun).
 
“Nearly impossible to look away from.” —Elle
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 1, 2007
ISBN9781555847852
Husband and Wife: A Novel
Author

Zeruya Shalev

Zeruya Shalev was born at Kibbutz Kinneret. She is the author of three previous novels; Love Life, Husband and Wife and Thera, a book of poetry and a children's book. Her work is critically acclaimed and internationally bestselling. Shalev has been awarded the Book Publishers Association's Gold and Platinum Prizes four times, the Corine International Book Prize (Germany, 2001), the Amphi Award (France, 2003), the ACUM Prize twice (1997, 2005), the French Wizo Prize (2007), the prestigious Welt-Literature Award (2012) and The Remains of Love is a finalist of the Bottary Lattes Grinzane Prize (Italy, 2013). Husband and Wife was also nominated for the Prix Femina Prize (France, 2002). A feature film of Love Life, produced in Germany, was released in 2008. Her books have been translated into twenty-five languages. She lives in Jerusalem.

Related to Husband and Wife

Related ebooks

Jewish Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Husband and Wife

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

38 ratings2 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very passionate book about marriage problems and complex relationships between people. The author goes deep into the inner self of each character to show us that nobody is perfect, that every single decision we make in our life can have both a positive and a negative impact on us and people around us. I would say this is an anti-love story written in such a powerful and strong language that makes one question one's own marriage and existence.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What is the essence of a marriage? Or of parenthood? In this beautiful novel, Na’ama Newman expresses what it feels like to sense the impending dissolution of one’s own marriage. As a manifestation of marital difficulties, Na’ama’s husband Udi experiences paralysis which is diagnosed as “conversion” or physical symptoms with a psychological basis. In desperate attempts to avoid psychiatric care for Udi, the couple first takes a short trip and later invites Zohara, a Tibetan spiritual guide, to work her craft on them. The solutions, it turns out, cause as much harm as they do good. Complicating matters, their having a 10-year-old daughter who is ostracized by her peers is an additional stress for the couple. Na’ama, always the controller, sabotages any effort on Udi’s part to become closer to his daughter. 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.

Book preview

Husband and Wife - Zeruya Shalev

dbook_preview_excerpt.html}]ȑV; -x!1*f'oK:qNDdf}%ު"?'"N;68ߗ/'wKw=ݜzgCx]KwuGg|w!wzt4\5?>z~tqpnS8 *r}}ma]<ƌ3nSXq^<=\uCwc?!Î 7^ɳG O\sn:r,>1e}[\vE ."+ۊ4C7L+3 #<Yc K>1v&۵a~Lxe<1a?91n^cԑ~tM7[cw|imH>w"Ysˈ$At r~)BfsX^ݑfӐ':i:۹~v`+m=cJY|f ≉YY>2Lez]>$|$Y N'>m $㸈Dw?Luև)r GeUٗa{8^#Ppe"a S(xpsN,1/ g?u^a{I8l۾Oe-â6F+^.2.u)\r`y x̦t{?)A=GG1Sބe)a+_96W~$˜UGdhnEZߺ!ASMI t)-[hC"ɶ5spC,vNXs1;lָrEI ~ko*V3G+*ĀnH'&I8M=(OC×UԜ1 Me0&ջO'W=MwOt=]vRfZe)LBQ=K!-U5/{ L-<k`RJ0%3dM6G6a #"Ghxi!bH_qTD4QF zep\v+뀓l,4&zAGц'55g⁝8p '1O'5\YYo_aw&? o"vZp F혥L'gҽ& v1>.r%PzY-=vCE=3LT:i]D= $6>/s7O0f ;%N )r-Os1ySx[#G #C˵jV襚ʩCvGcOP>!bTyVgǀ%F(un:An"{{|ěH"s:%8se,snEcT d!s,]-, |P;]|1j7UP3ٱ.g MOY$"2{Sj:e2p-JhQ7%B$Qىڹ"JGS6'ɕgCM$z&ˊ:/P6-_~QP^D@ :"t;Z ^Ʉ1gYq[m6Xa u1c,hd#E| ~"1R U%a$ 5^*8X?!hBĝ]?abu_ri  ƯOcSuDq+$ 9`#EunK$±U{& ({`@Ž'tj5LbbT~ )B6R9h\ch9Ů0PCRcc5G ´{Ͻ܅{}5QOL5, ]CX}0PK_t |?P%d֛)(&%SE Q= x KgIoyP^wJi=鸌R&yY\gQ¾$r WyeT1\HcؓK1&hgI7tuz}9MLGOg~ 6E?o:@<0Yݍaqޡ;E7b#=*q#D>&H(G`&ģ_G,dT^=@ X sՠ T{t 4E6UcC0׉J~⇇MU@ݽE3n׍a|fxp%Ä}|)*["3>L⣮xs/~Y)I e Ѭ~]:V>X niQI)ƥbS^+!aH~OїL\#zA`X8Y.AR<ȹ/Jb7qzY1TmSY39e؈fhoxxnh>?7ߊ'n+̹OT0XTv0㫬0DvãPPlG],2N5r'A8\ *8NS #I1.7e28is6Mbȝp-G*vZȾqeSQWf䞌A%Bvzd>bգP$P9Kmu\7-+v]t;$ӡɎ ώNA'˝nq.#3⠙G8!S [6 iMz\;~Sb ,WG9.d!3֓yW 2^%2j gc,f;Eb iezG1cxqi' źti4q5T ɬO&=Dr5Q"yKJx:`dj}VfZ4=z( FѬ x`MxRk5\" \aKDs=ܓEdT2A\mԷhV(K3KYl"]fk Hzvd,N1}q;uة;bp)vϡaH^$ؕ=?"e e`?/&zqꬉAY>FZŌ^7!Gdrk)YJ@4`h׸a8Ž0]@(Z)kh[?mg,Ϭ,Dɼ7멣.N}(z0")DvIvX>]#4pD4,!3QPʩ<}\sbCN8oޒ` tjr,AH:KZYOF&7<1&VP,#&bIwJ)U}D|d*0mt{r4_˟it)d'? +Lk c.&ȶ.l20itrvؙW߸PF]7ƷC%W,_I7ctu`hE3P1 (gj>.Jz{p,65*PCCXg ߘ5WNcvH,\\g@QndXM' cyr,T_(AN6 ؗ5O+\)*5@r̽5]1^"#wիcq Ȱ  d+rWH Tٗ bd`.3pn6aZ5tP< C13|-/~]⏹ WlHӃ.QK&+U75:a? eKwnj5 Ƥt(#abtlAWw,eI>9Pεc&o}YϨ`0POQ"-#̤7>u(WpZ\OB +elfJO9yE{+.xEH-7u8m-4CjgFUCVuFn%b,ɢe??J[HUvȁ- 2?Lj#uyrYt4 "U S2pXNY[@JŌ-(uo"k4!01wmOzR!UoSD;C\?(7ỤCh趡ޡ4{AiQ͕ Qh6iC :T#8 S,Uݙ3ijhU]̞BŬP&4d/̝υiQZb_a j=暑ZnP!cfQPVK6nt,rRA&MtGTT AUZ+|Yۛ >I:1r*\jDv4'q ]Buzr}ƶI~4ЧTQ4 ;* /8iMw)n=xь|b9j&*J ^n Em>ujqЛ݋hH1ε4OAw~!}o:BIZ0;܇y=o,3f KCak˥ݿD}= rSjU46ba:)y`Kp;۞tXȦ!87M+U/z*BZ ~.”8VṮ!ˬJ7%7pѶt fK>!>H3jú*jg&&[F ˧HZT`z"YMBzK1x/~'4k&Rxٖ`#M!^|.PE<ELUёF2$iס-:}'K-kup7AA*~.hDqSX;m⡧0(gPrBt~DUײơ$Fh8kdC X2)t]دzlm[.b`7bn#ϙTpsؑi?̄b V6GZ0B Ok AǶ'!VEFM+ 5*eY_HTN 9B+R1'-x/"=ƦV(lڱ?ja4u[N\C:GZI"Eϧg4 䠕[nŘNr?oJf,hdNr~KRԭ&5TOgAb{F1* OMDʗʰJ"&gr$!@stYl˻<˝L5oe$eiҶ1ge9YZ@QRc [E:lrvzt&:ROʚc y#~e Eaۧk\ nʧ?a֍G~r.3ycZ9U#o qduS[fӿ_((yh$B<4J/%h3x/18ѓ2>/[ N7jQOZgrOEƑbPPRҜeq3 $L̽@ SvEdE{^60T'D ֶ ?Y: Op?!६;٘ڻ =X0ۋL~WZsi6!.`jQ;jxN,ח̟ĥX*k/˱U捡~'qM㿡S MvƊ< k[mkSk:P+]J%h*ݼ$0 ! 2ج̙p)Loh,L=]jGe5tscl vnwDVǑ25*12!/'Ky<*~&TMzjS7Tb()(־%q/_u8;L>Yw~huXg* śk%: [vJs!  rXwq GPU( +lYDm!R-V3]*=+cSYQ[FLYIӫd7͆X%aS{[,TZw6a#k1 B/pO$ePϖ8y% uVjK ݗj !8c^cBqRŬjKJnHZ)jkKڞ^|}-~Nu(dw <P0I11f2i}/(8m= {YDr%lލUV4[Ƈi+lO| ɃrgޗªҸQǺܵ6|UL~k)hFjZDJe% d/V6`˼"PpޒHxLOP8Z 6+x~P@Lj5QڍYF,[="kD ׸6!K}q:uMF: )vڰ) W+L/˯nNvU9P9(J^[j:ټ*|2OW{k T\#򘬇\Ye2#Sl8to "~jE_mO<-P(3Q'fUX;XS=h$6ފߛ"%ЏcL ʋh< -@,8w՗ZSzGD-^+jAEΕ̢i {{2*g5ؼ* "{YkNa4bn.(r3hL YRN+9TԩYJQc /9w)>Rf 21RTֿٙW9!"kBF"2x;~ӟC1cW6O' h7:\YuyLx]cCJf TTn"7k3/2EMvuo쬗Pϥ8Tڍ8IG{&ueV=/A1eTMI a$ 6jhתRa.ucj+ QGE RYMUGN*P0y޳sJ; %#MMr'X# /s\~{MK $)~)oPIn~95u-I^jx曝5kfQ\ V5˂*L3:n& $7T yLu7}͜,FmPXww1\l{m-8Xl~Nx*,ŶX.@k MiͥZOz׆lh⭍>PP* ]q2ߠ$xzNVM9<]]&a@7_%eP_iQ eaE@Ͷkxў*V,h- oZJ+ЍEp5Ic|5k®^DL O-GvgI+2B#©xW HI5Pm/!o󵺃qE@n?EZ;d~4VZ5:m\kHɮ/y ^Å !N,Eh=>!:Ũd/ߺ?5=JŷLk]ՎAս[j+Q 1o5Y (י0QH d B%[É"k8kottu{7%>Ћ`M5p4^eX[kie(Hw`6ϻԈΥmUZDs|&g\d}b}1sLM
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1