
Translated from the Hebrew by Sondra Silverston
Last year, I read Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen with my book group – I really enjoyed it – a novel about the nature of lies and lying. Waking Lions is an earlier novel – and one which also examines morals and responsibilities. I thought this was an even better novel than Liar, there’s an almost thriller like nature to the storytelling (that I don’t always like) which makes this a pacey and gripping read from page one. The kind of novel about which I really can’t say too much.
Dr Eitan Green is a family man, a good man who once stood up for what he believed in and paid the price. He is also an arrogant man, one sure of his place in the world, and quite able to ignore that which is unpalatable. A neurosurgeon, he has recently moved his family from Tel-Aviv to the town of Beersheba on the edge of the desert – a town he hates.
One night having worked late at the hospital – Eitan decides to take his SUV through its paces, something he ever gets a chance to do – driving at speed along a deserted, moonlit road. He hits someone.
“Somewhere beyond the next step the man he hit is waiting for him; he can’t see him from here, but he’s there, another step and he’s there. He slows down, tries to delay that final step, after which he’ll have no choice but to look at the man lying on the side of the road.”
Eitan immediately sees two things, one the man he has hit is beyond help, as a doctor and a neurosurgeon he understands that instantly, and secondly the man is an African migrant. Everything he holds dear immediately feels under threat – Eitan gets back into his car and flees the scene. He is wracked with guilt – but convinces himself he did the only thing he could.
The following day at home, waiting for his wife and two young sons to return for lunch, he is visited by the wife of the man he ran down – she has his wallet – she knows everything. The man Eitan ran down was an Eritrean called Asum, Sirkit his wife is dry eyed and unemotional – and asks him to meet her that night at a deserted garage in a remote roadside location.
“emigrate is to leave one place for another, with the place you’ve left tied to your ankle with steel chains. If it’s difficult for a person to emigrate, it’s only because it’s difficult to walk in the world when an entire country is shackled to your ankle, dragging behind you wherever you go.”
Eitan assumes she will want money – a lot of money – so he withdraws a large sum with which to pay her. Sirkit doesn’t want money – though she takes what is offered – instead what she wants is for Eitan to set up a make-shift clinic for refugees in the abandoned garage. Eitan has little choice, he feels, but to comply.
Eitan’s wife Liat is a police officer, trying hard to make her way in a male dominated world. They are called in to investigate the hit and run of an Eritrean, though it seems as if it is only Liat who cares about it. She talks about the case to her husband and is a little surprised when he takes an interest.
Eitan’s life is no longer his own – juggling long shifts at the hospital with family life and endless, gruelling nights at the garage – under the watchful eye of Sirkit – the lies start stacking up. He starts to steal medical supplies from the hospital, and at home, Liat begins to wonder who or what is taking up so much of her husband’s time. This world Eitan has entered is a long way from the privileged world he is used to, slowly he must start to set aside the prejudices he was barely even aware he had. This is a world of intense poverty and violence, a world in which criminal gangs operate, feeding off the poor and desperate. It isn’t long before Eitan himself is in real danger.
“You think this country returns our love? Nonsense! She vomits us up time and time again, sends us to hell, beats us down without mercy. With the Romans and the Greeks and the Arabs and the mosquitoes. So you think that someone here says, ‘If she doesn’t want me, I should go?’ Someone here says ‘There’s no point in holding a country by force if she’s been trying to get rid of you from the minute you came to her?’ No. You hold on to her as hard as you can and you hope. You hope that maybe she’ll finally look around and see you and say – that one. That’s the one I want.”
Gundar-Goshen portrays the lives of the sad, poverty stricken migrants that come to the garage for treatment at night faithfully and realistically. There seems to be an anger in the author’s view of their reality, their invisibility – the danger they are constantly in, living as they do on the edge of a society that barely sees them.
This is a novel clearly asking questions about a person’s moral responsibility, guilt and how we reconcile ourselves to the things we are ashamed of. We also see clearly the privilege of one part of society co-existing alongside another that is practically invisible, voiceless and poor.
This sounds fantastic and am off to look for a copy. Thanks for steering us toWards yet another good read.
Ooh good, I really hope you enjoy it.
Like you, I was impressed by The Liar and already have this one on my shelves waiting to be read. Delighted to hear that it’s even better. Goshen seems to have a knack for combining moral messages with a great bit of storytelling.
Yes, I enjoyed Liar, but I think there are more layers in this one. Hope you enjoy it when you get to it.
What a great choice for WIT Month Ali, and this sounds like a really powerful read. That theme of moral responsibility for your actions is a really important one.
Yes I can see that these moral themes are clearly of interest to the author. It was a good choice for #Witmonth for me.
Oh my goodness, that quote about one’s country, that does resonate profoundly with me! A book well worth reading, I really need to get to it sooner rather than later.
Oh yes, that quote leapt out at me, even as someone who has never lived outside of my own country.
This sounds like a fabulous read; it’s definitely going on the TBR list. Since I’ve read very few things by Israeli novelists (only a novel or two by Appelfeld) I’m looking forward to some happy hours of exploring a new area.
Glad you like the sound of this one. I think the only Israeli books I have read are the two by this author.
This sounds incredibly compelling, just ripe for a TV/film adaption. I’m already thinking about potential directors and actors for the roles…
Oh yes, I think this would make an excellent film. The setting alone woukd be dramatic.
I haven’t read either of these so two more for the list, their reality is so foreign to ours isn’t it?
The author presents the realities for these refugees so realistically, it’s a sharp reminder for those of us who enjoy greater privilege.
I really enjoyed a lot of the book but I felt the author got carried away and introduced too many themes.
It’s a shame it didn’t work so well for you. I thought all the themes worked well, connecting in a way to portray the difference in two society groups.
This sounds excellent, tackling big issues but still maintaining a compelling story. I’ll look out for this author!
The issues are explored in an interesting way I think,but the novel is also just a good read.
That sounds like a compelling read and a bit out of the ordinary for you. I keep retreating back into the comforting at the moment!
Yes it was a bit outside of my usual sphere but I am glad I read it. Lots of interesting themes in a compelling story.
wow! this sounds like a very powerful and interesting read! i might have to pick it up soon! thank you for sharing💞
Follow @everythingtips for tips and recommendations if interested! It would mean a lot to me!🥺🤍
Glad you like the sound of it.
It’s always a nice surprise to find a thoughtful and powerful novel has a page-turning element to it too. And I’m especially pleased to hear that you’ve enjoyed this one so much because i have an essay to write about it later this year and now can anticipate it being a “good read” as well as a good story.
I would be interested in what you think of this one.