Lilach seems to have it all: a beautiful home in the heart of Silicon Valley, a happy marriage and a close relationship with her teenage son, Adam. But when a local synagogue is brutally attacked, her shy, reclusive son is compelled to join a self-defense class taught by a former Israeli Special Forces officer. And when a Black teenager dies, rumours begin to circulate that Adam and his new friends might have been involved. As scrutiny invades Lilach’s peaceful home, and her family’s stability is threatened, she is forced to reckon with a devastating question: do you ever really know what your child is capable of?
Ayelet Gundar-Goshen was born in Israel in 1982. She is a practising clinical psychologist, has been a news editor on Israel’s leading newspaper and has worked for the Israeli civil rights movement. One Night, Markovitch, her first novel, won the Sapir Prize for best debut. Her novel Waking Lions was a New York Times Book of the Year and won the Wingate Prize, and her novel Liar was Editor’s Choice in People magazine. All of her novels are available from Pushkin Press.
Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society 