Richard Zimler – författare

An ineffable mixture of light and dark, desire and death.

The year is 1506, and the streets of Lisbon are seething with fear and suspicion when Abraham Zarco is found dead, a naked girl at his side. Abraham was a renowned kabbalist, a practitioner of the arcane mysteries of the Jewish tradition at a time when the Jews of Portugal were forced to convert to Christianity. Berekiah, a talented young manuscript illuminator, investigates his uncle's murder, and discovers in the kabbalah clues that lead him into the labyrinth of secrets in which the Jews sought to hide from their persecutors. A challenging mystery and a powerful indictment of the evils of intolerance, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon is an extraordinary and spellbinding historical thriller.

One of the Best Books of the Year a Must Read Sunday Times In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus resurrected a beloved friend named Lazarus from the dead. Yet the Gospel of John which contains this episode does not tell us how Jesus accomplished this miracle or if he had a special purpose for saving his companion. In The Gospel According to Lazarus, Richard Zimler narrates this mysterious and influential story from Lazarus' own point of view. After he is awakened from death, Lazarus has difficulties regaining his previous identity and confidence. His experience of death has left him fragile and disoriented, and his newfound fame is a burden he does not want. Worse, his faith has been shattered because he remembers nothing of any afterlife. In compelling flashbacks, we learn of Lazarus' initial meeting with Jesus during their boyhood in Nazareth and discover how he came to earn his friend's trust and gratitude. Back in the present time during the Passion Week Jesus tells him, however, that their meeting as young boys was no accident and offers a surprising explanation for why he brought them together. After Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Lazarus concludes that his whole life may have been a test for this chance to save his beloved friend from crucifixion. But will Jesus accept Lazarus' final sacrifice? In Zimler's impeccably researched and highly moving novel, Jesus is presented as a mystical healer within the context of ancient Jewish practice and tradition. Indeed, one of the objectives of this novel was to restore to him and the other characters their Judaism. AUTHOR: Richard Zimler's eleven novels have been translated into twenty-three languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in twelve different countries, including the UK, United States, Australia, Brazil, Italy and Portugal. Five of his works have been nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award, the richest prize in the English-speaking world, and he has won prizes for his fiction in the UK, America, France and Portugal. Richard has explored the lives of different branches and generations of a Portuguese-Jewish family in four highly acclaimed historical novels, starting with The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, now in development as a major film. He grew up in New York and since 1990 has lived in Porto, Portugal. For his contributions to Portuguese culture he was awarded the city's highest distinction, the Medal of Honour.

From the acclaimed author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Warsaw Anagrams comes an unforgettable, deeply moving ode to solidarity, heroism and the kind of love capable of overcoming humanity's greatest horror.

Rich in historical detail and mysticism, Hunting Midnight is Richard Zimler’s mesmerising tale of deception, guilt, forgiveness and devotion, played out against a backdrop of war, slavery and religious oppression.

At once passionate, furious and hopeful, Guardian of the Dawn is both a saga of horrifying religious persecution and a riveting, tender multicultural love story.

Thrilling, suspenseful and evocative, The Seventh Gate is at once a love story, a tale of fierce heroism and a horrifying study of the Nazis' war against the disabled.

At once a memoir and a thriller, The Search for Sana sees the internationally bestselling author of the Sephardic Cycle create an unflinching exploration of lifelong friendship, loyalty, cruelty and dispossession.

FINALIST FOR THE 72ND NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS - BOOK CLUB CATEGORYONE OF THE SUNDAY TIMES' BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS OF 2022'Zimler is an honest, powerful writer' The Guardian'A memorable portrait of the search for meaning in the shadow of the Shoah.' - The Sunday TimesFrom the acclaimed author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Warsaw Anagrams comes an unforgettable, deeply moving ode to solidarity, heroism and the kind of love capable of overcoming humanity's greatest horror.Maybe none of us is ever aware of our true significance.Benjamin Zarco and his cousin Shelly are the only two members of their family to survive the Holocaust. In the decades since, each man has learned, in his own unique way, to carry the burden of having outlived all the others, while ever wondering why he was spared.Saved by a kindly piano teacher who hid him as a child, Benni suppresses the past entirely and becomes obsessed with studying kabbalah in search of the 'Incandescent Threads' - nearly invisible fibres that he believes link everything in the universe across space and time. But his mystical beliefs are tested when the birth of his son brings the ghosts of the past to his doorstep. Meanwhile, Shelly - devastatingly handsome, charming and exuberantly bisexual - comes to believe that pleasures of the flesh are his only escape, and takes every opportunity to indulge his desires. That is, until he begins a relationship with a profoundly traumatised Canadian soldier and artist who helped to liberate Bergen-Belsen - and might just be connected to one of the cousins' departed kin.Across six non-linear mosaic pieces, we move from a Poland decimated by World War II to modern-day New York and Boston, hearing friends and relatives of Benni and Shelly tell of the deep influence of the beloved cousins on their lives. For within these intimate testimonies may lie the key to why they were saved and the unique bond that unites them.