Author(s): Leon Silver

Judaica

In the tradition of The Reader comes a powerful coming-of-age novel set in post-World War II Europe, Israel and Australia. At the hospital bed of his comatose uncle, Laibel Goldenstein recounts their family's extraordinary journey from war-torn Europe to the fledgling state of Israel and then on to Australia. It is a cathartic tale of new beginnings, both for the family and their adopted homes, and the reader is plunged headlong into exotic, startling environments. Fresh and vibrant, alternately joyous and heartbreaking, this is a story of loss, but also of moving forward and 'coming to terms with one's exile'. Written in an intensely visual and engaging episodic style, Dancing with the Hurricane goes fearlessly into Lily Brett territory and emerges not just unscathed but triumphant. This compelling story is loosely autobiographical but has all the benefits of fiction in developing themes and a stunning array of images: of memory, hope, dashed dreams, and achievement - not to mention popular music - as Laibel struggles with a past he has previously attempted to suppress. It's an insightful blend of the public and the personal, the historical and the contemporary. Stylistically and thematically challenging, topical and ambitious, it is a novel which reconciles the present with the past, providing fresh perspectives on resettlement, 20th-century history and the ongoing rift between secularism and fundamentalism.