To the End of the Land

Ofer is on the brink of being released from his army service in Israel. His mother Ora waits at home, waiting to celebrate, only to find that Ofer has to return to the front for a major offensive. Caught between hope and despair, Ora simply leaves her house, without leaving any way of contacting her, hoping that by her distance from the notifers – those that tell of the deaths of military men – her son will return safe and well.

This is a stunning work, a novel of immense power that gives depth and perspective on the human cost of war and warfare. Shocking, tender, and rhythmic, it is hard to do justice to the dextrousness of the narrative, of its drive and stark beauty. The comparison has been made to War and Peace, and for once this is justified. This is a book resolutely for and of our times.