Journey into Bulgarian History and a Thrilling Crime Story

For many readers in United States, Bulgaria is a strange and mysterious land. A small European country with around 7 million population, most of them speak Bulgarian, a major Slavic language after Russian and Ukrainian. Only recently attain its democracy 20 years ago, joined the European Union at 2007. For most American readers, Bulgaria would probably perceived as just an insignificant country in Europe.

Yet, Mr. Shuman, former Editor in Chief of Israel Insider and About.com’s Israel Culture Guide, told us how false our perception can be. In “Valley of Thracians”, we are guided into a wonderful journey into ancient Bulgarian history, a thrilling crime story and a memorable adventure.

Review of 'Three' by D. A. Mishani

There are three women at the heart of Israeli crime writer D.A. Mishani’s new novel Three, translated by Jessica Cohen (Europa Editions, August 2020). Orna is a single mother raising a young son still traumatized by his parents’ divorce. Emilia is a live-in caregiver from Latvia who is trying to find herself after the elderly man she cared for died. And Ella is married, the mother of three, who is writing her university thesis. Three women with nothing in common, except for the same strange man who comes into their lives.

Orna meets Gil on a dating site for divorced singles. After online chats they meet up. Orna is surprised at how patient Gil is, at how he seems like he has all the time in the world to develop their connection. He doesn’t pressure her, and their phone conversations are so short that Orna wonders why they are talking on the phone at all. Still, they continue to talk and when they meet on a date it is Orna who suggests that they become intimate. Gil’s seeming reluctance to pursue their affair makes one curious as to why their relationship ends up the way it does.

Emilia needs to look for a job after 84-year-old Nachum dies. Nachum’s wife and children assure her that she can remain in her small room until she finds new work. A part-time position opens up, but Emilia would have to do it for cash, without permits. Nachum’s wife suggests that Emilia talk to her son Gil, a lawyer. Gil, she says, will make sure Emilia doesn’t get deported from Israel. Gil asks Emilia to clean his apartment and she agrees. In her free time, Emilia goes to church services, trying to find spiritual meaning to her life. She asks herself if she should go back to Latvia, but what she doesn’t ask herself is why she let herself fall under Gil’s spell.

"The Volcano" - short story

“You need to come home. Now.”

“I hear you,” I reply, holding the phone at a distance. Maya’s voice comes across the line at a higher decibel level than usual. “Are you sure you’re feeling contractions?”

“Daniel!” It is nearly a shout. “I know what this is and I know that you have to be on the next flight.”

“Alright,” I say, wondering if this isn’t another case of false labor, like the symptoms that sent us to the hospital prematurely just two weeks ago. “I will order my ticket for tonight.”

“I don’t know if I can last that long!”

It is early afternoon so there’s plenty of time to make a reservation. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be an empty seat on the plane. Not many people fly from Sofia to Tel Aviv in the middle of the week.

Read the rest of the story on The Bookends Review.

Why I Run

I get up every morning at 5 am. Am I crazy? Although I’ve always been an early morning person, these days I am working from home and can get up whenever I want. Yet here I am, getting out of bed before the sun rises in the sky.

And the reason I get up so early is so that I can run.

Last year, I ran the 10-kilometer race in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Marathons. I am not an athlete at all, nor a professional runner, but I ran those races.

At the time, daily visits to the gym and running, whether indoors on a treadmill or outdoors on weekends, were part of my routine. Unfortunately, a number of physical setbacks as well as the rising cost of gym membership threw me off course. It's only in recent weeks that I’ve begun running again.

So, why do I run? Here are a few of the reasons:

Boar Meet

I ran into a pack of wild boars the other day. Wild boars? Is there any other kind?

It was on one of my 5am runs that I encountered an adult boar and six piglets. The smaller creatures quickly vanished into the brush, but the adult turned to me and moved steadily forward. It grunted as it approached.

I have written about boars before, and how they became uninvited visitors on my moshav. The last time I saw boars was in the middle of the night a year ago, when two huge creatures ran across my path. But I knew they were still around.

Overturned garbage bins. Garbage on the street. Hoofprints in the garden. Uprooted plants. More garbage.

Sorry Americans, But You Just Won’t Understand This Hilarious Movie

You can be excused if you saw the Netflix film “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” and found the plot to be totally ridiculous. How could there ever be an international song competition with singers who care more about their outlandish appearance than about performing memorable songs?

But Eurovision really exists and this movie accurately presents the glitzy fanfare. As silly as it looks and sounds, Eurovision is serious stuff. After all, the competition introduced the world to Abba and Celine Dion. Broadcast all across Europe and elsewhere around the world, Eurovision is one of the most watched non-sporting events and attracts hundreds of millions of viewers.

The New Normal?

Yesterday some 500 new cases of coronavirus were detected in Israel, the highest number since April. The number of cases keeps going up. Health Ministry officials warn us that we will soon have over a thousand new cases a day, higher than Israel’s peak in late March/early April.

The second wave of the disease seems to be a direct result of the re-opening of the Israeli economy. Life has returned to normal, but a new sort of normal. Things are different.

I Am Looking for My Next Book to Read

Here’s the deal: Having self-published two novels and a collection of short stories, I know how difficult it is for new authors to find readers and get reviews for their books. I want to help!

I am looking for a novel/s to buy and read. I will endeavor to post an honest review (on my blog, on Amazon, on social media). Honest review. This means clearly stating if I like or don’t like the book; what works in the book and what doesn’t; and whether it’s well-written (no spelling and/or grammar errors).

I am interested in a Kindle digital book that I can purchase and download from Amazon.

If you’re looking for a buyer/reader/reviewer – quite possibly you’ve come to the right place!