Husband and Wife

A Novel

De: Zeruya Shalev

Narrado por: Suzanne Toren

A rising star of international letters, Zeruya Shalev takes us on a compelling narrative journey in the exquisite and unsettling Husband and Wife. Na'ama and Udi Newman have many of the trappings of an idyllic shared existence. A couple since they were schoolchildren, they have grown together like vines and settled into a routine of calm domesticity along with their young daughter, Noga.

But in a scene worthy of Kafka, the quiet rhythms of their family life suddenly screech to a halt when Udi wakes up one morning to find that he is unable to move his legs. The doctors quickly set about searching for a physical explanation, but it soon becomes painfully clear that his paralysis is a symptom of something far less tangible and far more insidious than any of them had imagined. This one morning sets in motion a series of events that reveals a vicious cycle of jealousy, paranoia, resentment, and accumulated injuries that now threaten to tear the small family apart. Shalev brilliantly captures the vulnerability and deceptive comforts of lives intertwined in this deeply disturbing portrait of a diseased marriage.

©2000 Zeruya Shalev. Translation copyright 2001 by Dalya Bilu. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Interesting!

Very interesting book. VERY well written, poetic in style. Perhaps in the category of absurd-ist literature, if there is such a category! A different thing altogether from most things floating around out there.

Somewhat phantasmagoric, and stream of consciousness as well. May be difficult to listen to for long periods of time, although the narrator is very good. Not for everyone! If you feel adventurous and want to try something different, go forth and listen….☺️

Incredible dissection of a psyche

This amazing book is an example of how fiction can explain more about a person's motivations than nonfiction ever could.