All the Rivers

A Novel

De: Dorit Rabinyan

Narrado por: Gabra Zackman

A controversial, award-winning story about the passionate but untenable affair between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man, from one of Israel’s most acclaimed novelists

When Liat meets Hilmi on a blustery autumn afternoon in Greenwich Village, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Charismatic and handsome, Hilmi is a talented young artist from Palestine. Liat, an aspiring translation student, plans to return to Israel the following summer. Despite knowing that their love can be only temporary, that it can exist only away from their conflicted homeland, Liat lets herself be enraptured by Hilmi: by his lively imagination, by his beautiful hands and wise eyes, by his sweetness and devotion.

Together they explore the city, sharing laughs and fantasies and pangs of homesickness. But the unfettered joy they awaken in each other cannot overcome the guilt Liat feels for hiding him from her family in Israel and her Jewish friends in New York. As her departure date looms and her love for Hilmi deepens, Liat must decide whether she is willing to risk alienating her family, her community, and her sense of self for the love of one man.

Banned from classrooms by Israel’s Ministry of Education, Dorit Rabinyan’s remarkable novel contains multitudes. A bold portrayal of the strains—and delights—of a forbidden relationship, All the Rivers (published in Israel as Borderlife) is a love story and a war story, a New York story and a Middle East story, an unflinching foray into the forces that bind us and divide us. “The land is the same land,” Hilmi reminds Liat. “In the end all the rivers flow into the same sea.”

Praise for All the Rivers

“Rabinyan’s book is a sort of Romeo and Juliet, a forbidden love affair between a Jewish girl from Tel Aviv and a Palestinian boy from Hebron. . . . [A] beautiful novel.”—The Guardian

“A fine, subtle, and disturbing study of the ways in which public events encroach upon the private lives of those who attempt to live and love in peace with each other, and, impossibly, with a riven and irreconcilable world.”—John Banville, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Sea

“I’m with Dorit Rabinyan. Love, not hate, will save us. Hatred sows hatred, but love can break down barriers.”—Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

“Astonishing . . . [a] precise and elegant love story, drawn with the finest of lines.”—Amos Oz

“Rabinyan’s writing reflects the honesty and modesty of a true artisan.”—Haaretz

“Because the novel strikes the right balance between the personal and the political, and because of her ability to tell a suspenseful and satisfying story, we decided to award Dorit Rabinyan’s [All the Rivers] the 2015 Bernstein Prize.”—From the 2015 Bernstein Prize judges’ decision

“[All the Rivers] ought to be read like J. M. Coetzee or Toni Morrison—from a distance in order to get close.”—Walla!

“Beautiful and sensitive . . . a human tale of rapprochement and separation . . . a noteworthy human and literary achievement.”—Makor Rishon

“A captivating (and heartbreaking) gem, written in a spectacular style, with a rich, flowing, colorful and addictive language.”—Motke

“A great novel of love and peace.”—La Stampa

“A novel that truly speaks to the heart.”—Corriere della Sera

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Rabinyan’s book is a sort of Romeo and Juliet, a forbidden love affair between a Jewish girl from Tel Aviv and a Palestinian boy from Hebron. . . . [A] beautiful novel.”—The Guardian

“A fine, subtle, and disturbing study of the ways in which public events encroach upon the private lives of those who attempt to live and love in peace with each other, and, impossibly, with a riven and irreconcilable world.”—John Banville, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Sea

“I’m with Dorit Rabinyan. Love, not hate, will save us. Hatred sows hatred, but love can break down barriers.”—Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

“Astonishing . . . Even the (asymmetrical) tragedy of the two peoples does not overwhelm this precise and elegant love story, drawn with the finest of lines.”—Amos Oz

“Rabinyan is a generous writer who puts her characters first. . . . Rabinyan’s writing reflects the honesty and modesty of a true artisan.”—Haaretz

“Rabinyan juggles cultures, languages, art forms, places, times, and seasons. . . . Because the novel strikes the right balance between the personal and the political, and because of her ability to tell a suspenseful and satisfying story, we decided to award Dorit Rabinyan’s [All the Rivers] the 2015 Bernstein Prize.”—From the 2015 Bernstein Prize judges’ decision

“[All the Rivers] ought to be read like J. M. Coetzee or Toni Morrison—from a distance in order to get close. We might be born Montague or Capulet, but we can choose not to be part of the tragedy.”—Walla!

“Beautiful and sensitive . . . a human tale of rapprochement and separation . . . a noteworthy human and literary achievement.”—Makor Rishon

“A captivating (and heartbreaking) gem, written in a spectacular style, with a rich, flowing, colorful and addictive language.”—Motke

“Rabinyan’s ability to create a rich realism alongside a firm, clear and convincing flow of emotional fluctuations . . . gives the work a literary momentum and makes the reading both compelling and enjoyable.”—Ynet

“A great novel of love and peace.”—La Stampa

“More real and painful than a deep wound . . . a novel that truly speaks to the heart.”—Corriere della Sera

Too easy

It was too easy to end with death. What would happen to these lovers who were kept apart because of the worlds they live in and their own prejudices.

Very touching love story between an Israeli and a Palestinian.

The animosity between their countries sneaks into their love and cuts into their love. They meet in New York fall in love and realize their relationship could never exist in Israel or Palestine. They each yearn for the other in their home countries but even though they are only about 40 miles apart the difficulty even to telephone each other, much less visit is extremely difficult. During this period of war between their two countries the little details from their childhoods helps us to understand how difficult it is to overcome the innate hatred between the two cultures. The fact they could love each other is hopeful but the depth of the hatred of their cultures is frightening

A perfect book and a perfect performance

The character development, language and love story were perfect
The descriptions of NYC and a divided Israel were perfect
The suspense and conclusion were riveting!!!

Outstanding contemporary literary realism.

Joyful, painful, holding you to the very end. This is a book I would recommend to serious readers.

People, Not News

The story reminds us that we must never forget our common humanity, that we are all passengers on this journey we call living and must try to discard the artificial barriers that keep us apart and keep us from appreciating our full potential.