From one of Israel’s most acclaimed novelists comes the controversial, award-winning story of a love affair between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man. Set in New York City, All the Rivers is a tender and fiercely written Romeo and Juliet for our times.
International praise for All the Rivers
“I am impressed. Even the (asymmetrical) tragedy of the two peoples does not overwhelm this precise and elegant love story, drawn with the finest of lines. There are many astonishing things about this book.”—Amos Oz
“Rabinyan is a generous writer who puts her characters first. . . . Rabinyan’s writing reflects the honesty and modesty of a true artisan. She is meticulous, to be sure, but at the same time she doesn’t appear to be straining, and this is what sets someone like her apart from those who merely practice the craft of writing.”—Ha’aretz
“In All the Rivers, Rabinyan juggles cultures, languages, art forms, places, times, and seasons. Because of the novel’s epic fullness, its realistic plot which takes place in three cities—New York, Tel-Aviv, and Ramallah—whose symbolic weight within the current psychological and political reality is admirable, because the novel strikes the right balance between the personal and the political, and because of her ability to tell a suspenseful and satisfying story, we decided to award Dorit Rabinyan’s All the Rivers the 2015 Bernstein Prize.”—From the 2015 Bernstein Prize judges’ decision
“[A] brave story that maintains a delicate balance and is too smart to be didactic or priggish. Dorit Rabinyan’s All the Rivers ought to be read like J. M. Coetzee or Toni Morrison—from a distance in order to get close. We might be born Montague or Capulet, but we can choose not to be part of the tragedy.”—Walla!
“Beautiful and sensitive . . . a human tale of rapprochement and separation . . . Rabinyan’s ability to construct a complex situation in which stereotypes of weakness and strength are transcended and true connections are revealed behind that which divides us is a noteworthy human and literary achievement, grounded in sensitive, refined and non-derivative writing.”—Makor Rishon
“There’s no doubt Rabinyan knows how to tell a story. The indecisions, moods and even the weather all take on unique beauty with her.”—Saloona
“A captivating (and heartbreaking) gem, written in a spectacular style, with a rich, flowing, colorful and addictive language. It was definitely worth the wait.”—Motke
“Rabinyan’s ability to create a rich realism alongside a firm, clear and convincing flow of emotional vacillations is evident in the novel and gives the work a literary momentum and makes the reading both compelling and enjoyable.”—Yotam Shwimmer, YNET
“This is not a political manifesto but an intelligent and emotional novel—and a plea for the freedom of love.”—EMOTION
“A great love story.”—Deutschlandfunk
“A great novel of love and peace.”—La Stampa
“All the Rivers is more real and painful than a deep wound, a novel that truly speaks to the heart. Not to hearts hardened by money, interests or selfishness. It speaks to who listens to what we have inside of us, and about the joy of sharing it with those who have opened, through love, the door to our secrets.”—Corriere della Sera
From the Hardcover edition.
