Ljubavnik
The Lover (1977) is a monologue novel in which an Israeli master of introspection unravels family secrets during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Award-winning, translated into numerous languages, it is part of Yehoshua's exploration of identity and exile.
Gabriel Arditi, an Israeli who has lived in Paris for years, returns to Israel penniless to retrieve his recently deceased grandmother's belongings. At Arditi's house in Haifa, he meets Asya, a teacher of the deaf and mute, who was once his mistress - a passionate relationship that produced their daughter Dafi. Her husband Adam, the port boss, is haunted by the grief of his son who drowned in childhood, and sees Gabriel as a replacement. Dafi, a thirteen-year-old girl full of anger and curiosity, seeks a father in this stranger. The story is woven through five voices: Asya confesses love and remorse, Adam struggles with jealousy and sadness, Dafi discovers sexuality and the world of growing up, while Gabriel, disappearing in the war, symbolizes exile and loss. The family falls apart in the chaos of war: Asya travels to Egypt in search of Gabriel, Adam confronts the past, and Dafi escapes into dreams. The novel ends on an open note, with questions about love that destroys and unites.
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