Discovering new writing in Israel

“In many ways, Back to the Future: Israeli Literature of the 1980s and 1990s is a dream come true,” says the Director of the University of Melbourne Centre for Jewish History and Culture and former President of the Australian Association of Jewish Studies.

“I have always been an enthusiast and advocate for Hebrew literature, both on the basis of its artistic merit and for the window it opens onto the deeper workings of today’s Israeli culture and into the heart and soul of a society. This book is a labour of love and my personal tribute to the creative energy of Israel and to the authors I grew up with.”

Commencing with a summary of the history of contemporary Hebrew literature and its major developments, the book introduces and guides readers to a range of (probably) unfamiliar Israeli authors.

Dr Abramovich says he hopes readers will discover a new window into Israeli culture that will grip their imagination and keep them busy reading for years to come.

“Anyone can pick up the book and enjoy its offerings,” he says. “No prior knowledge of Israeli literature is required.”

Back to the Future: Israeli Literature of the 1980s and 1990s provides a wide-ranging survey of 17 Israeli novels and short stories and brings together a range of fresh critical perspectives that will benefit fans of literature in general, also teachers and students. It deals with pivotal areas that emerged and blossomed in the 1980s and 1990s, presenting new readings and documenting the evolution of Israeli literature’s aesthetic and ideological vision. Extensively discussed are genres such as second-generation Holocaust literature, Mizrachi writing and detective fiction.

“I tried to meticulously map out the social and political background for the broad transformations that took place in Israeli society during this period and to link those developments to the literary changes that seeped into the fabric of Israeli writing of that time. I knew that this was an imposing and genuinely challenging project, and hope I pulled it off,” Dr Abramovich says.

Dr Abramovich is now working on his next book tentatively titled, Hebrew classics: A journey through Israel’s timeless prose and poetry to be published in the USA next year.