À la trace

For a month between 16^th April and 16^th May 2015, Carole Zalberg spent her time in Israel as part of the Stendhal programme for the French Institute, writing a fiction based on the life of her three cousins who were born there. It was the first time in 30 years that she was coming back to that “glorious and complicated” land.

Her relatives who had settled in Israel thought she would eventually come as well. It was obvious she would at long last “come home”. But why choose exile if you don’t feel you need to run from a threat? And can a land, any land, really ever mean safety?

This Tel Aviv diary explores Carole Zalberg’s ambivalent connexion to the supposedly “promised” land, questioning the misconceptions of her family, both estranged and connected by exile.

Reviews

“Strong and beautiful.” Isabelle Bunisset, Sud Ouest

“A heart-rending text that changes the way you think of that promised land.” Les Filles du Loir

“There’s a slight chiming sound to her writing, like a bell sounding from the abyss.” Pierrette Fleutiaux

“A candid and deep story, about family ties and origins, the wounds—past and present—of a troubled country and also a magnificent call for tolerance and brotherhood.» Nathalie Cambier Jonval, Une autre Lecture

“A sensitive account, full of atmospheres and sharing, that questions identity, roots and above all the importance we give them.” Virginia Bart, Le Monde des Livres