I’m skipping out on you again, Jake, but I swear this is the last time.
This job—let’s call it a mission—is going to take care of our future. I was in
such a hurry that I didn’t have time to pack a suitcase. Didn’t even take a
toothbrush. I’ll buy one on the way, and you can add it to the junk piled up in
the darkroom, which you call a boydem. I hope you won’t take advantage
of my absence to chuck it all out.
Believe
me, Jake, it was a spontaneous decision. An irresistible impulse, to use the
legal jargon. I didn’t call a travel agent, didn’t even book a room. If I’m
lucky I’ll get a discounted ticket; tourist season is over, thank God, and all
the kids being dragged around the sites by their parents have finally gone back
to school.
So
listen to me, Jake, before you change the locks and count me out for good.
There comes a moment when you have to take a gamble. The slightest hesitation
or delay could mean that the tracks are erased, and then it’s a lost cause. I’m
not going to come home with my tail between my legs like I did last time.
That son
of a bitch Lenox woke me up when he called.
We’ll pay any price, Simon, he
said.
His
voice pecked at me through the cloud of Jack Daniels. I was in the middle of a
nice dream about swimming in a puddle of money. And then Lenox starts kissing
my ass, like he always does, as if he’s offering to show my photos in some
upscale gallery.
Turn on
the TV, now! he yelled.
Every
channel was showing the primary results, and her face was all over the screen.
She had that grin her consultants told her to use, very aware of the importance
of the occasion, and she wore a designer outfit that Lenox helpfully informed
me was red, to match her trademark red hair. While Lenox nattered on and I
started shoving my camera into the bag and strapping on my lens case, I noticed
something shining right at the presidential candidate’s neckline. At first I
thought it was a technical glitch in the broadcast, but then I picked up a
lighthouse signal in the rhythm of her breaths, a tiny light flashing on and
off. And that’s what convinced me that I had a real chance this time—because I
could smell her fear, too.
The
smell of fear, Jake. There is no sharper perfume.
Job, did
I say? Mission? Let’s settle on ‘professional challenge.’ To disrobe the lady
of all her theatrical costumes and expose her for what she is. A fair deal for
the voters.
Lenox
kept up his dizzying stream of flattery: You’re the only one who can shadow
her, Simon. Stake out the house and the campaign headquarters, get past the
security detail, bribe whoever needs to be bribed. We’ll cover all your
expenses. Just get us the picture.
He spoke
in the first-person plural, like he and I were partners in some grandiose plan
that would alter the course of history. I was completely awake at this point,
and my dream about the puddle of money began to seem real. I saw us bathing in
a cascade of dollar bills. It would be like getting a windfall inheritance from
a relative we didn’t even know existed.
How much
are your promises worth, Lenox? I asked. Because last time you strung me along
and ended up not buying a single shot, after I worked my ass off for you
chasing that porn star whose silicone implants burst.
Lenox
said: I give you my word, Simon. You’ve got two days. A rare window of
opportunity, as politicians like to say. Then he laughed out loud, brimming
with self-satisfaction. This is your lucky chip, Simon!
I didn’t
tell the son of a bitch: It’s a good thing I’m the pursuer and not the pursued.
Because who wants his picture spread all over the front page with his hand down
his pants? Although, let’s be real: a photo of me, no matter how embarrassing,
is not going to topple a presidential candidate, and whatever we do or do not
do within the narrow confines of our options is not going to reverse history.
I was
still zapping through channels, trying to catch a rerun of the primary results.
I had to make sure I wasn’t wrong, that the shiny spot at the candidate’s
neckline was more than just a digital illusion or some new eyesight problem.
While the pundits splattered their clichés about the crossroads of American
democracy and the premature—or belated—maturity of the voter, the only thing I
could think was that her image consultants had made a big mistake. If I were
them I would have vetoed the glimmering pendant—the candidate’s Achilles heel.
And that’s when the penny dropped: This time, Jake, I really have a chance to
make it.
Lenox
yelled: Get off your ass, Simon, before it’s too late!
It’s the
only U.S. state I’ve never been to, and everyone says it’s a special place.
You’re in the picture, too, Jake – it’s your chance to take a journey to your
roots and go back home, all through my camera lens.
So this
is it, partner. I’m taking the first flight I can get to Isra Isle.
Translated by Jessica
Cohen
2016
Text published with
the permission of Nava Semel
Jane Fonda about the book: 'And the rat laughed'
by Nava Semel (video)
ISRA-ISLE by Nava Semel: synopsis from Mandel Vilar Press
What are Jews doing in the chaotic Middle East when they could have
been living peacefully in the state of "Isra-Isle," near Niagara
Falls?
In 1825 Mordecai Noah, a diplomat, bought Grand Island as a refuge for
Jews. The novel opens in September 2001 when Liam Emanuel, an Israeli
descendant of Noah, learns about and inherits the island. He leaves Israel with
a burning desire to reclaim this historic Promised Land in America. Shortly
after he arrives in America, Liam vanishes with no trace. Simon T. Lenox, a
police investigator of Native American origin, tries to recover Israel's
"missing son." While following in Liam Emanuel's footsteps, Lenox learns
about Jews and Israelis, and why this strange tribe of wanderers has been
troubling the world for so long.
Nava Semel has published novels, short stories, poetry, plays, children’s
books, and a number of TV scripts. Her stories have been adapted for radio,
film, TV, and stage in Israel, Europe, and the United States. Her books have
been translated and published in many countries. Her novel And the Rat
Laughed was adapted into a successful opera, and it is also being made
into a feature film, directed by David Fisher. Semel is on the board of
governors of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. Her book Becoming Gershona
received the 1990 National Jewish Book Award in the U.S. She has received many
other literary prizes including the Women Writers of the Mediterranean Award
(1994) and the Prime Minister’s Prize (1996). She is married to Noam Semel,
Director General of the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv, and a mother of three
children. She lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Jessica Cohen, translator, has worked with some of Israel’s finest writers,
including David Grossman, Etgar Keret, Assaf Gavron, Rutu Modan, Amir
Gutfreund, Yael Hedaya, Ronit Matalon, and Tom Segev, as well as such prominent
screenwriters as Ari Folman and Ron Leshem. She has served as a board member of
the American Literary Translators Association, and is also a member of the
American Translators Association, the Israel Translators Association, the
Colorado Translators Association, and PEN American Center. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
Reviews For Isra Isle
“Semel’s novel
explores an intriguing what-if scenario based on historical fact. In 1825,
Jewish-American Mordecai Manuel Noah purchased Grand Island, near Niagara
Falls, from Native Americans, planning to create a place of refuge for Jews.
Semel’s novel asks the question, What if this plan had worked?... In this
changed world, Israel never existed, Native American and Jewish customs have
been merged, and the American Jewish state affects many issues in the world.
Each of the main characters struggles with issues of religion, spirituality,
and identity in streaming thoughts and discussions. Through those voices, Semel
explores issues of global importance—such as terrorism, prejudice, and
politics—in this singular, thought-provoking novel." -- Publishers
Weekly
"[A] spellbinding alternate-history….Semel’s true achievement with this book is her seemingly effortless ability to demolish the walls we instinctively put up in our minds between the “past,” the “present,” and the “future.” Each section is on the surface self-contained, but names, narrators’ styles, and traumatic events bleed through and into one another, suggesting recent theories in quantum mechanics about how time doesn’t necessarily flow in just one direction. Rather, Isra Isle suggests that, in two different universes (one in which Israel doesn’t exist, and one in which it does), the same problems persist: what does “home” mean? What about “exile”? Can we ever really escape tragedy and catastrophe, even if the conditions are vastly different? And then there’s the narrative style itself… that dazzles the reader. Jessica Cohen masterfully brings this through in her translation, and we’re lucky to have the opportunity to read this beautiful novel in English." -- Rachel Cordasco, Speculative Fiction in Translation, October 16, 2016
“In a daring and brilliant book, Nava Semel turns the Zionist narrative upside-down and contemplates whether it would have been possible to change the history of the Jewish people. She creates a world in which a prosperous Jewish state under American patronage arises at Grand Island, near the Niagara Falls, in the wake of the vision of Mordecai Manuel Noah. This is a fascinating book that connects Jews, Indians and Afro-Americans, all with a persecuted past and searching for a homeland, and asks the question, “What would have happened if . . . ?” -- Abraham B. Yehoshua, author, Mr. Mani, Five Seasons, and The Liberated Bride
“Semel once again proves herself one of the most original voices in Israeli literature. Equal parts detective novel, historical fantasia, and alternate history, Isra Isle offers a compelling exploration of modern Jewish identity for a postmodern world. Semel tackles serious topics with swift pacing and a sly wit: Zionism, multicultural politics, the attacks of 9/11, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and American Judaism. This what-if novel is Semel’s Israeli-feminist Yiddish Policemen’s Union—a real triumph of the imagination.” -- Adam Rovner, author, In the Shadow of Zion: Promised Lands before Israel, University of Denver
November 2016 | 256 pages
$16.95
Buy Isra-Isle: Mandel Vilar Press
Back to Isra Isle with Nava Semel
Nava Semel: ISRA-ISLE
A new English translation of
my acclaimed novel ISRA-ISLE was recently published in America
by “Mandel Vilar Press” and is getting wonderful feedback. It's a political
novel exploring current issues of racism, minorities, refugees and the high
cost of a territorial dispute. It places Jews, Native-Americans,
African-Americans, and all persecuted people in a mutual search for a safe
haven.
What if Israel did not exist?
What if instead there was a Jewish state on an American island, founded
centuries ago? ISRA-ISLE is the state that could have been.
The novel is inspired by a
true historical event. In 1825 Mordechai Manuel Noah, an American journalist,
diplomat, playwright and visionary, founded a Jewish sanctuary on a
Native-American island at the foot of Niagara Falls, and named it
"Ararat". The novel depicts an alternative reality in which the
Jewish people answered Noah’s call, Isra-Isle is the smallest federal state in
America, Israel does not exist, and there was no Holocaust. Imagine that.
For me, the question of
"what if" is a personal one. I could have easily been an American. My
grandfather emigrated to New York in 1921, abandoning his wife and son – my
father. When I was five years old he reunited with the family and reluctantly
moved to Tel Aviv. He strongly believed that America is the only promised land
for the Jewish people, and that "the experiment in the Middle East”, as he
called Israel, would end in disaster. As a stubborn little Zionist girl I would
constantly confront him. In writing ISRA-ISLE I continued our
heated argument. It was like arguing with a ghost. Imagine that.
Photo by Nitzan Lotem 2015. All rights reserved.
Biography
Award-winning Israeli and international author and
playwright NAVA SEMEL has written twebty books of fiction, plays, scripts and
opera libretti. Ms. Semel was born in Jaffa-Tel Aviv and has an MA in Art
History from the Tel Aviv University. She has worked as a journalist, art
critic, TV, radio and music producer.
Her works include:
Hat of Glass, the first
Israeli book in prose to focus on the Second Generation - children of Holocaust
survivors (published 1985; new edition 1998; translated into German, Italian
and Romanian).
Becoming
Gershona, winner of the National
Jewish Book Award in
the USA (1990); published by Viking Penguin; translated into Italian, German,
Romanian, Dutch. Adapted for Israeli television.
Flying Lessons published by Simon & Schuster
(1995); adapted for the Israeli television; translated into German, Czech,
Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Serbian, Albanian and Chinese. An Opera version opened
in 2009 (composer: Ella Milch-Sheriff).
Her acclaimed novel And
the Rat Laughed was
published in Israel in 2001 to rave reviews and great success. Germany 2007,
Australia 2008, Italy 2012, Romania 2015. An Opera-Play composed by Ella
Milch-Sheriff and produced by the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv and the Israeli
Chamber Orchestra, premiered in 2005 and ran for five years. Semel and
Milch-Sheriff won the "Rosenblum Award" of the City of Tel Aviv.
North American production, 2009 Toronto. A movie version is currently in the
making.
Semel's her one-woman play The Child behind the Eyes, first produced in 1986, ran on
the Israeli stage for 11 years. It has also been produced on radio by the BBC
London, Radio France, Radio Belgium, Radio Spain, Radio Ireland, six radio
stations in Germany, Radio Austria, and Radio Romania. It won the "Best Radio
Drama" award in Austria 1996. On the stage it was performed in Rome
(1990), New York (1991), Los Angeles (1996), Prague (1997), Sibiu Theatre
Festival (2004), Resita Theatre in Romania (2005), State Theatre of Ankara,
Turkey (2005), Lodz Theatre - Poland (2006), Bucharest Theatre (2007). A new
production in Israel in Arabic opened in 2006. Recently produced in
Amsterdam, (2012) and Alaska. (2016).
Semel's children's book Who Stole the Show? published in 1997, won the Illustrated
Book of the Year Award (1998), and was cited at the "Ze'ev Award"
(1999). Italy 2003. An English-Romanian bi-lingual edition, was published in
Romania 2008.
A television series, based on the book was produced in
1999.
Other works of fiction include also Paper Bride (1996; Romania 2000. Germany
2003. Finalist of the YA German book award 2005, Australia 2012, Turekey 2016); Night Poems (2000) and The Courage to be Afraid (2005) - two collections of poetry for
young readers on darkness and fears.
Nava Semel's 2005 novel IsraIsle had received rave reviews and its
stage version opened in 2015. US publication: October 2016.
Her YA book Beginner's
Love (2006) was
published in Italy 2007, Czech Republic 2008, Germany 2010 and Slovakia 2011.
Her biographical fiction Australian
Wedding came out
in Israel 2009 to rave reviews and became a best-seller. Her children's book The Backpack Fairy came out in 2011. Her novel Screwed on Backwards (2012), the story of a Jewish musician
saved by his Christian lover in Italy under Nazi occupation, received rave
reviews. Italy 2014.
Her latest Theatre works: The Bell Maiden (musical play for the entire family)
2012, Beit Lessin Theatre and the Mediatheque Youth Theatre.
Paper Bride (musical),
the Israeli Festival for New Musicals, Bat Yam 2013.
Her latest books: Hymn to the Bible (dramatic poetry, 2015) and Taking Wing, a Science
fiction crossover, under the pen name Huan B. Landi (2016).
NAVA SEMEL won the Israeli Prime Minister's Award for
Literature in 1996 and the Women Writers of the Mediterranean award in France
1994. She was awarded "Women of the Year in Literature of the City of Tel
Aviv" in 2007.
She translates plays for the Israeli stage. Semel is a
member of the Board of Directors of Massuah
-the Institute for Holocaust Studies and served on the Board of Governors
of Yad Vashem.
Ms. Semel is married with three children. She lives in
Tel Aviv, Israel.
