The Last of the Wise Lovers

RetailEver wonder what is the true nature of the people closest to you?Under the shadow of what secret are they living and why are they ignoring the clear warning signs they're being sent? The clock is ticking. Time is running out. Things are not what they seem. Page after page you find yourself drawn deeper and deeper into this suspense and espionage thrilling adventure.In his attempts to understand what was unfolding, Ronnie Levin - the adolescent son of an Israeli diplomat and his wife living in New York, gets caught up in a race against time, the deceitfulness of those around him and the doubts gnawing away at him.Ronnie discovers much to his surprise that unfathomable events are taking place between his parents and around them. Circumstances become even stranger in light of his mother's evasive behavior and her disregard of a series of warnings regarding a fatal event that was soon to take place. "The Last of the Wise Lovers" is an espionage thriller that simply cannot be put down. It combines a fascinating and smooth-flowing story, with the story of a young man's journey into maturity and the loss of innocence.ReviewHa'ir, October 1991: "Jackont's psychological attention is precise and intelligent, never lapsing into pointless depths, and it doesn't impair the book's soft touch and easy flow - it only makes it more enjoyable". Hadashot, September 1991: "Suspense with added value - it is not clear if Hebrew literature needs another Amos Oz, or to what purpose, exactly. But readers are in great need of good readable books such as this one"."Tel Aviv" (Yediot Ahronot) September 1991: "The Last of the Wise Lovers is an enjoyable book to read on a September evening. I imagine during for other months as well".From the AuthorFrom the day I started writing, I knew that one day I would deal with the boy who discovers that his mother isn't faithful to her most important and significant relationship, to her marriage to his father. I took my inspiration for the characters and the story from an event that occurred in Brussels, Belgium, where I lived with my mother for a few months when I was seven.We were living next door to distant relatives of ours, Jean Paul and Adele. I loved them very much. Jean Paul was an engineer and built ship models for me that I would sail in the pool in the nearby park. But I was obsessed with the beautiful Adele, who sang chansons to me and told me about her adventures in the French Resistance during World War II. It was 1955, and Europe loved heroic stories like those of Adele, who had hidden British spies who'd parachuted into occupied Belgium, right under the noses of the German forces. I adored her. I spent many hours at her home, listening to her songs and her stories and helping her with all her housework. She was my whole world in that strange city.Sometimes, when Jean Paul wasn't home, Adele would take a small travel bag from the cupboard, put her nightgown and a few cosmetics in it, and go out. She would return a few hours later, with her bag in hand and her face glowing.One day, while she was packing her bag, I quickly left the apartment, and waited on the other side of the street. I had no idea what she would do or what would happen. All I knew was that I had to understand where Adele disappeared to and why she took her nightgown and cosmetics with her, when she had no intention of being away from home for the night.And then she appeared and began to walk quickly, her thin heels clicking. She stopped a few streets away, at the entrance to a small park and waited, leaning on the stone gatepost. Suddenly, a tall man appeared at the street corner, wearing a long raincoat. He quickly approached her and their lips met in a long kiss. Then he took the bag from her, took her by the waist and they both walked into the park, away from me.Something inside me exploded. I suddenly found myself standing alone in a street with a name I didn't know, and I couldn't remember how to get home. "Adele!" I shouted tearfully, "Adele!"She stopped, turned to me and held her arms out. I ran to her as fast as I could and when she hugged me, she asked, "How did you get here?""I wanted to know where you were going with the bag and nightgown," I panted, and peaked at the man standing next to her.She giggled, then immediately turned serious. "This is Sheldon," she gestured to the man. "He's a British pilot that I have to transfer today to Antwerp."I examined the man. He was very good looking, black hair and olive skin. "He doesn't look British and the Germans have already been beaten.""Shhhh..." she whispered, "He doesn't look British so that he won't be discovered, silly, and other enemies have taken the place of the Germans. The Russians, for example...you mustn't tell anybody about what you saw. Sheldon's life is in your hands now..."They took me by taxi back to the top of the road we lived on, and I never told anybody. Five years later, after we returned to Israel, my mother told me that Adele and Jean Paul had separated. "She had lovers," she said, "but he managed to live with that somehow. But then the French Secret Service files were opened, and it turned out that she had collaborated with the Germans during the war. That he couldn't forgive. He was in the resistance, you know, and hid British spies that parachuted..."