Jerusalem Beach

Praise

“This vigorous, inventive work will surely fire up readers’ neurons.”
— Starred Review, Publisher’s Weekly

“[Gefen’s] philosophical concerns and ability to combine humor with grim resignation to the conditions of everyday life in Israel recall Etgar Keret.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“Gefen makes imagined destinations as tangible as Tel Aviv, the Negev desert or Hadera. His characters and backdrops demonstrate the breadth of a people and a country and will make readers eager to see what he does next.”
— Shelf Awareness

“The stories in Iddo Gefen’s Jerusalem Beach are a series of original and, many times truly inspiring, attempts to seek and find humanity and tenderness at the least predictable places.”
— Etgar Keret, author of Fly Already

“Jerusalem Beach accomplishes the impossible—at once playful and wrenching, surprising and organic, these stories are instant classics, if classics could somehow come from the future. Gefen’s is a once-in-a-generation voice.”
— Shelly Oria, author of New York 1, Tel Aviv 0

“Ironic, stirring, funny and exhilarating, Jerusalem Beach is a brilliant debut, and Gefen may be the best Israeli short story writer since Etgar Keret.”
— Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, author of Waking Lions

“Sad and funny and full of wisdom and truth.”
— Amos Oz, author of A Tale of Love and Darkness

“Jerusalem Beach signals the confidence and the probing talent of a mature writer, confident in his craft, who knows how to control a complicated storyline with an unexpected, enjoyable twist, while creating distinct characters that speak in many unique voices.” 
— Arianne Melamed, Haaretz

“Iddo Gefen is the voice of his generation. But he’s also a voice that’s somewhat wiser than his generation; one that observes from the sidelines, or rather, from the perspective of an eighty-year-old grandfather…[Jerusalem Beach] is a fresh, imaginative and bold debut.” 
— Eshkol Nevo, author of Three Floors Up

“A few of the pre­cise and often star­tling sto­ries in Iddo Gefen’s excel­lent debut col­lec­tion may remind some read­ers of Etgar Keret’s whim­si­cal approach to life’s absur­di­ties, but Gefen’s voice is assured­ly unique among younger Israeli writ­ers whose short sto­ries often seem to con­tain the deep emo­tion­al com­plex­i­ties of entire nov­els. […] Gefen proves adept at tak­ing read­ers into very dark places while offer­ing qui­et notes of com­pas­sion and consolation.”
— Ranen Omer-Sherman, Jewish Book Council