Dorit Rabinyan - 'All the Rivers'

Dorit Rabinyan will discuss 'All the Rivers.' Presented in partnership with The Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago. At the Co-op About the book: A controversial, award-winning story about the passionate but untenable affair between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man, from one of Israel’s most acclaimed novelists. When Liat meets Hilmi on a blustery autumn afternoon in Greenwich Village, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Charismatic and handsome, Hilmi is a talented young artist from Palestine. Liat, an aspiring translation student, plans to return to Israel the following summer. Despite knowing that their love can be only temporary, that it can exist only away from their conflicted homeland, Liat lets herself be enraptured by Hilmi: by his lively imagination, by his beautiful hands and wise eyes, by his sweetness and devotion. Together they explore the city, sharing laughs and fantasies and pangs of homesickness. But the unfettered joy they awaken in each other cannot overcome the guilt Liat feels for hiding him from her family in Israel and her Jewish friends in New York. As her departure date looms and her love for Hilmi deepens, Liat must decide whether she is willing to risk alienating her family, her community, and her sense of self for the love of one man. Banned from classrooms by Israel’s Ministry of Education, Dorit Rabinyan’s remarkable novel contains multitudes. A bold portrayal of the strains—and delights—of a forbidden relationship, 'All the Rivers' (published in Israel as 'Borderlife') is a love story and a war story, a New York story and a Middle East story, an unflinching foray into the forces that bind us and divide us. “The land is the same land,” Hilmi reminds Liat. “In the end all the rivers flow into the same sea.” About the author: Dorit Rabinyan is the bestselling author of the acclaimed 'Persian Brides,' 'Strand of a Thousand Pearls,' and 'All The Rivers.' She is the recipient of the Itzhak Vinner Prize, the Prime Minister’s Prize, The ACUM award and the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Award. Her most recent book, 'All the Rivers,' was banned from use in high schools curriculum by Israel's Ministry of Education. The book was #1 bestseller in Israel for over a year. and was awarded the prestigious Bernstein Prize.