Hold on to the Sun

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Praise for Snapshots:"This brave and complex work must be read by everyone still lured by the hope of peace."—David ShapiroPraise for The Name:"Govrin interweaves past and present in a shifting voice that moves with daunting ease between first and third person."—Kirkus ReviewsIn this portrait of the artist as a young woman, Michal Govrin, one of Israel's most important contemporary writers, offers a kaleidoscope of stories and essays. Populated by mysterious and real people, each tale is in some way a search for meaning in a post-Holocaust world. Reminiscent of W.G. Sebald, characters irrationally and humanely find reason for hope in a world that offers little. Essays describe Govrin's visits to Poland as a young adult, where her mother had survived a death camp. Govrin journeys there after she learns that her mother had not been alone. She lost her first husband and eight-year-old son, Govrin's half brother, and kept it a secret from her second family for many years. In a multiplicity of voices, Govrin's haunting stories capture the depths of denial and the exuberance of youth.Michal Govrin is the author of eight books of fiction and poetry. Her novel The Name won the Kugel Literary Prize in Israel; her second novel Snapshots was awarded the 2003 Acum Prize for the best literary achievement of the year. Govrin has been selected by the Salon du Livre as one of the most influential writers of the past thirty years.About the AuthorMichal Govrin: Michal Govrin was born in Tel Aviv, is the daughter of an Israeli pioneer father and a mother who survived the Holocaust. Working as a novelist, poet, and theater director, Govrin has published eight books of poetry and fiction. Among her novels, The Name received the Kugel Literary Prize in Israel and was nominated for the Koret Jewish Book Award. Snapshots was awarded the 2003 Acum Prize for the Best Literary Achievement of the Year. Govrin was nominated for the Israel Prime Minister's Prize, the nation's highest honor, in 1998. Among the pioneers of Jewish experimental theatre, Govrin has directed award-winning performances in all the major theatres in Israel. Now residing in Jerusalem, Govrin teaches at the School of Visual Theater and is the academic chair of the Theater Department of Emunah College, both in Jerusalem. She has taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, presents an annual lecture at The Cooper Union School of Architecture in New York, and is a former Writer in Residence and Aresty Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for the Study of Jewish Life at Rutgers University.Judith G. Miller: Judith G. Miller is a professor and former chair of French at New York University. She has written extensively on French and Francophone theatre, including a recent book on theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine. She also translates plays from the French, most recently excerpts of plays by Hélène Cixous (with an introductory essay) for Columbia University Press.