The Name

A "fascinating story of Jewish mysticism and erotic intensity" (Grace Schulman) by the winner of the 1998 Israeli Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Writers.

The recipient of two of Israel's most prestigious literary awards, The Name tells the story of Amalia, a daughter of Holocaust survivors who seeks desperately to remake her life and escape her history. Named for her father's first wife--a concert pianist who perished in a death camp--Amalia finally seeks refuge in an ultra-Orthodox seminary where she encounters a fierce, charismatic rabbi who preaches a fiery Kabbalistic Judaism, and embraces a life of passionate penitence. It is the starting point of a strange and hypnotic journey that takes the reader from the earthy and erotic to the spiritual and sublime--marking a powerful, disturbing, and unforgettable debut.

"Wrenching...beautifully written."--Library Journal

"Rewarding...There are stunning moments of loss and betrayal, of hearts offered and unthinkingly rejected....This is more than a story of the continuing toll of the Holocaust, [it is] more broadly about the human heart."--The Providence Journal-Bulletin