It is very difficult to write about ongoing traumatic events. The trauma of 7/10 is unfolding, although today more than two days ago there are more chances to see a closing - although not an end of it.
Recently I attended at the International Festival of Literature Berlin a discussion about writing after 7th of October, with Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, Julia F. Tzaisler and Yaniv Iczkovits. Gundar-Goshen, who is a clinical psychologist by profession, and was asked to offer assistance to those affected by the events, outlined that right now, the trauma the Israeli society is experiencing is still ongoing since two years. Healing requires at least a closing of the current state of affairs, meaning the return of the hostages and end of the ostilities.
Therefore, it is hard to read and think about the future of Israel when the past is in the making. The hope, that toxic hope that poisons sometimes our senses, requires a balance that only books can offer. Hence, an overview of three books I´ve read in the last years related to the 7/10, in German and English.
I classified the three books in a past-present-future timeline, although this does not reflect exclusively the sequence. But, we humans we need structure and categories to organise the world, even in the midst of the most terrible catastrophies.
The Past: Israel.7. Oktober by Lee Yaron, translated into German by Maria Zettner, Sigrid Schmidt, Cornelia Stoll
This book by award-winner journalist Lee Yaron is my favorite approach on the current events so far. In 10 ´human stories´ she brings to the life of the written word personal histories of victims of the massacre. It is an enormous but worth every word of it, of oral history. It keeps the memory while outlining the diversity of destinies and the precious lives that were lost.
Rating: 5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
The Present: Fenster ohne Aussicht by Dror Mishani translated by Markus Lemke
When 7th of October happened, crime author and literature professor Dror Mishani was in Toulouse. His diary of the time covering those first moments following the massacre until 10th of March 2024 were collected in a Tel Aviv diary translated into German as Windows without View (the translation belongs to me). Exactly as a windowless window, the words - his, his students´ - are hardly finding their way. For a while, he is not writing crime novels, he cannot do it right now, but took notes of the reflection of his memories and thoughts, with snipets of information, about this new society. Literature makes not sense, and his refuge are old prophets´ and the Ilyad.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
The Future: Fire by Ron Leshem, translated into German by Ulrike Harnish and Martin Lemke
Ron Leshem, the author of Fire - in the German translation, Feuer. Israel und der 7. Oktober - overviews Israel´ strategic mistakes, including regarding Sinwar, from the perspective of a future that must be focused on healing the trauma. It is a personal and society trauma, as Leshem had family members who lived in the kibbutzim and eventually got kidnapped. His insider knowledge combined with his analytic skills - he was a former intelligence officer gives a realistic chances of a difficult future yet not impossible to fathom.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
