Savyon Liebrecht

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One of the most powerful voices in contemporary Hebrew literature, the German-born Liebrecht is the author of several novels, novellas and collections of short stories. She is also a prolific writer for the stage and for television. Her play The Banality of Love was performed in Israel and abroad, and was adapted in Germany into an acclaimed opera. Three of her books have been adapted for television; two others have been made into feature films.

 

Liebrecht has received several awards for her work, including the Alterman Prize (1987) and the Amelia Rosselli Prize (Italy, 2002) for Mail Order Women; The Maior-Amalfi Award (Italy, 2005) and the WIZO Prize (France, 2009) for A Good Place for the Night; and the Adei WIZO Prize (Italy, 2017) for Pearls in Daylight. She has been named Israel Playwright of the Year twice, for the plays It's All Greek to Me (2005) and Apples from the Desert (2006).

 

Liebrecht's books have been translated and published in nine languages, and she has a dedicated following in Germany, Italy, Poland and the United States.

 

Title: The Bridesman

Novella

Publisher: Keter

Year: 2020

188 pp.

 

Translation rights: World

Audio visual rights: World

Translation: Complete English translation by Gilah Kahn

Rights sold to USA (Europa, NYC), UK (Europa, London), Italy (Edizioni e/o, Rome), France (Mercure de France, Paris)

 

Micha, an Israeli expat in Los Angeles working as a ghostwriter, receives an unexpected invitation. Adella, married to his beloved uncle, has sent a flight ticket to Israel and a reservation for a boutique hotel, for him to come home and to meet with her.

 

Micha was the bridesman at Adella’s wedding, years before. His memory of her is as a poor and rebellious young woman, out of sorts and mocked by his family. Micha is stunned by the Adella of today–poised, confident, with nothing of the uneasy woman that he remembers from the past. Adella's life story brings up evocative memories, but nothing can prepare him for the surprise she has in store for him…

 

The Bridesman presents a beguiling cast of characters, interwoven into an alluring story of a forgotten past and a surprising present. Liebrecht's book has been adapted for the stage, and will soon be performed by Tel Aviv's prestigious Beit Lessin Theatre.

 

 

Critical Praise

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Family secrets and slippery memories loom large in this tale of a Los Angeles-based ghostwriter who returns to Israel, 24 years after migrating, at the request of his aunt. Their relationship is forever changed in this subtle narrative, fluidly translated from the Hebrew. 

New York Times​

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With subtlety and grace, Liebrecht depicts how his characters fashion the narratives of their lives out of experiences they don’t understand. This wisp of a story somehow leaves readers with plenty to chew on. 

Publishers Weekly 

 

[The book] is a creation of haute couture.

Yediot Aharonot

 

Fascinating book…a surprising ending.

Makor Rishon

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The Bridesman is a novella full of … revelations and upheavals. Despite the soft and occasionally light tone, there is never a dull moment. And as such, as in Liebrecht's short stories, every word has meaning; each scene touches, in its own way, the profound themes that characterize her writing.

Haaretz

 

The Bridesman is a well-carved miniature, a piece of delicate embroidery that floods the heart, chamber by chamber. Savyon Liebrecht… builds a complicated story with patience and modesty, with a good ear for language and precise comic timing—perfected over the years as a successful playwright, with an almost Chekhovian compassion.

Maariv

 

The excellent characters of Micha and Adela ... remind us that Savyon Liebrecht is one of the best writers we have.

LaIsha

 

The way Liebrecht presents her craft of storytelling evokes respect.

Yediot Aharonot

 

With a rich language, Liebrecht succeeds in telling two different narratives, with different rhythms and different perspectives, but still appearing as a single coming-of-age story.

Makor Rishon

 

A mesmerizing encounter between characters, between past and present, between literature and life.

The Good Life Magazine

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