A Wall of Light

by Edeet Ravel

Book Overview

"I am Sonya Vronsky, professor of mathematics at Tel Aviv University, and this is the story of a day in late August. On this remarkable day I kissed a student, pursued a lover, found my father, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060761474
• ISBN13: 9780060761479
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

My thoughts on...

This last installment of Ravel's trilogy about love in the midst of war follows the family members of a previous character in the series. Here too, the story is told in sections, this time from the viewpoints of three different characters from three different generations. Of the three, Sonia comes across as the main character because she talks to the reader directly, and her past history and her search for love become urgent to us. Anna's story is told in one-sided letters, so the intrigue of her sections comes from questions about what is written between the lines and what possible responses might have been. Noah's portions are told through his journal entries and they are nothing short of hilarious - he has a fantastic voice and a wonderful sense of humor. It's great to listen to him, first as a young child, and as we follow him through his teenage years, toward adulthood. What is really particular about Ravel's novels is her ability to create characters that seem real. You get a feeling that you could run in to these characters in real life. The trilogy as a whole presents a universe where characters have to deal with their personal lives during a politically difficult time and they comment, quite severely, on how a society in flux affects the individual and his or her choices.

Exciting Novel

It started out slow at first, then I thought I wasn't going to enjoy this book, as I started to read into the novel the story went form one character to character the story started to fit into place. I couldn't put the book down; it became so interesting to read the difference in the time line story from the different characters. Over all I would recommend this novel to read.

I loved it.

This is the third book I have read by Edeet Ravel, and I loved each of them. I'm Israeli, and I find the characters real and complex, not cardboard stereotypes like so much literature set in a political context. All the books are a very good read, and left me thinking and caring about the people whose story she tells. This book would be a great gift for people who care about Israel.

A wonderful conclusion to the trilogy !

After reading Edeet Ravel's first published novel, "Ten Thousand Lovers" last winter, I was delighted to read her second novel, "Look for Me." (Lucky for me, both had already been published!) During the period of waiting for novel #3 to be published, I took my family on our first trip to Israel. Our first stop was Tel Aviv, the setting for all three books. How exciting to be in the city where 'Ami,' 'Lily,' 'Daniel,'and 'Dana' "lived." I emailed Edeet (via her website), and she graciously replied, informing me that the Italian restaurant where we'd just dined was the setting for Dana and Vronsky's weekly Wednesday dinners! Too cool! We travelled with a private guide through Israel for 2 weeks, just before the removal of the Israeli settlers from Gaza. We were struck by the peaceful attitude of the Israelis and Palestinians we met -- many people wore either orange or blue ribbons to announce their feelings re: the pull-out, but there was no violence, no problem. EVERYONE has at least one opinion, but most manage to live fairly peacefully with the situation - perhaps because it's been going on for so long. Our tour guide, an Israeli, made a point to expose us (safely) to Palestinians -- food vendors in Akko and Jerusalem's Old City, shop-keepers everywhere. Of course, most of these Palestinians were Israeli -that is, they spoke Hebrew and were desirous of living within the borders of the State of Israel. We had many friendly discussions with many people; politically, our tour guide apparently is close to Edeet Ravel's position. Individually, the Arabs seem peaceful and reasonable. I think that a large part of the problem is that they do not have organization, and a leader who is democratic. Democracy is not on the anti-Israel Palestinian agenda. Neither is "recognizing" the State of Israel. Back to the book: Well, I've waited anxiously for the third in the series to be published, and was not disappointed even one whit! The brilliant conceit of this book is the revolving sequence of chapters, each using a different, but consistent, point of view. One chapter was a piece of Sonya's story (which collectively detail just ONE DAY!!); then, a bit from Noah's diary; then one in a series of letters written in 1957 by Sonya's mother to the lover she left behind in Russia. The sequence of authors continues through the book; we are able to get a view into the heart of each writer, and are also able to see the same events through different eyes. I also loved that Ravel "recycles" several characters through the books. I was so happy to "see" Lily, from "Ten Thousand Lovers" again! This seems entirely plausible, as Israel is a tiny country, and, really, everyone is connected somehow! A lovely story, about characters you will love and care about! I recommend reading the series in the order written, but it is not imperative. You probably will re-read them all anyway!

Kirkus review

From Kirkus: "The last of a trilogy (after Ten Thousand Lovers, 2003, etc.) portrays the emerging character of Israel through the relatively low-key, emotionally limpid diary entries of three characters from different generations. An epiphanic day in the life of a deaf Tel Aviv University math professor, Sonya Vronsky, holds center court, while Sonya's mother and cousin also offer journal entries containing some family history. The mother, Anna, a new refugee to Israel, writes to her lover back in Russia during the late 1950s, while her cousin, Noah, in his youthful diary reveals the milieu he and Sonya grew up in during the 1980s. First, though, Sonya, at 33, has been living with her attentive older brother, Kostya, in a gorgeous house in Tel Aviv he purchased out of guilt for the defining catastrophes of Sonya's life: her deafness, caused by an overdose of medicine given when she had a kidney infection at age 12; and a vicious rape she survived as a young student when twin drugged-out teenagers broke into her deserted university classroom. Sonya, as she reveals in her breezy journals, is a remarkably resilient character devoid of self-pity or sense of entitlement; she is determined to live her life her own way-that is, lose her virginity properly and take a lover. Goaded by a flirtation with one of her students, she proceeds to seduce the Arab taxi driver who brings her home, and afterward she convinces her brother and friends to help her find him again. In her journal, Anna, newly escaped from the Soviet Union and living with young son Kostya, records her involvement with an amateur theater production; Anna will learn of her lover's death, precipitating her dark journey into alcoholism. Noah, in turn, will venture into adolescent flirtations and the trial of serving in the Israeli army. Handling a tricky juxtaposition of three disparate lives with grace and wit, Ravel shows her characters forging a country out of trauma."