The House of Rajanis Alon Hilu Review

During his research in the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem Alon Hilu found the diary of the Jew Isaac Luminsky from 1895 to 1896, accompanied by, Erzählungs- and diary fragments of an Arab boy named Salach, son of the famous family Rajani from Jaffa, from same time. Based on the two sources Alon Hilu created this novel, insightful and appealing highlights the events in Palestine just before the turn of the century from two contrary perspectives. The author has also tried to keep the originals linguistically as close as possible.

To this end, he has specifically preserve the original peculiar style of speech. How nice that this is also Markus Lemke succeeded when he translated the novel from Hebrew into German: It is striking, for example, the typical sentence structure, in which the subject at the end of the block, the object is in mid-sentence and predicates with auxiliary verbs (must, allowed, etc.) often “twisted” to be arranged. I liked this linguistic authenticity liked, because it makes it easier to immerse yourself in time and atmosphere.

Some passages seem almost like fairy tales from the Arabian Nights …

1895 emigrated to the newly married agronomist Isaac Luminsky with his wife Esther to Israel. to somehow cope with his despair that almost brings him out of his mind and his life to keep a diary decides the husband as self-therapy. The root of his suffering is his beautiful queens same woman Esther, “Ma’am” gennant. For the beloved with the voice of a dewdrop turns out to be sham; she undresses, it attracts with its seductive curves to but then dismissed him with new excuses.

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In Jaffa arrived, Isaac travels through Israel, the Promised Land, to get an idea. But all the promises seem to have been only lies and deceit. Under agronomic point of the country is so poor is that in a thousand years to grow anything, and just as corrupt as lazy colonialists live on money from the Jewish Committee. The Arabs, however, who have been based here ever to live on the best soil, which appoint successful.

In the market of money changers looks Isaac, leaning against a wall, the quirrligen, noisy bustle about. Yet his eyes wander to a small black-haired boy, slightly awkward, not in his right, accompanied by a young Arab woman. He greets, she giggles facilitated back seductively. Then they disappear behind a caravan that is driven through the streets.

A few days later he receives from the above-mentioned lady Afifa Rajani, an invitation to her estate, she her son Salach pronounce upon request. Like making Isaac consequence, because as well as the unfulfilled desire (After all, the lady still indisposed. Before is) lures him the property with orchards. However, the tenant farmers have more mismanaged than right, and Isaac realizes that he could create a paradise here, however.

Salach, of shy mannerisms, is melancholy through to a death wish. alive only among women without contact with their father, who is always traveling, and without contact with other children, he is a lonely boy. Full of fantasies and visions he sits like days on end in his room. And like Isaac, he confides to his diary, writes poetry and an exciting story of Leila and Rashid

Isaac Salach can pull out of his soul deep. He plays with his ball, climb trees, swim with him, gives him pleasure to toughen up physically. From now on, Isaac becomes a “good angel”. Even Mother Afifa has her pleasure with him (The husband is traveling.). With great commitment Isaac drives the tenant farmers to work on, and soon he has transformed the estate of Rajanis into a thriving, profitable asset.

With the return of the ailing father and his death Afifa changed. She is tormented in the time of grief from the bad conscience if their sinful life; Finally, she takes amazing. This will an evil, corrupt Angels Salach from the good Isaac, for which he can feel only hatred. The boy finally plummets; his old delusions in which he can no longer distinguish reality and fantasy, look for him back home. He curses Isaac gives him visions on the way, his wife would give birth to a girl who will die after two years. Even on the marketplace announced Salach his vision. “If the people of Europe to slaughter the Jews, a wave will come from Jews to slaughter us and expel With cunning, fraud and deceiving them their claws into it dig into our good soils, their kotenden ass on the set. ” But the amount is applied and sells him with stones

The novel is impress a fantastic time document that “crazy” by his imagery and by the visionary prophecies of Salach -. Which unfortunately became much grausigerer reality .

the stylistic device of change of perspective – the description of the same situation from the perspective Isaacs and Salachs – naturally suggests the impression that the story was prepared objectively in the result. Nevertheless, the reader for further plot development will have to intuitively opt for one or the other point of view.

What is the answer to the quest for historical truth even more difficult is that the two representations relativize each other and correct , So Salach formulated its determination to kill Isaac by a poison in the drink and to challenge him to a duel at the cemetery; according Isaacs description but it is so weak that he can barely get out of bed.

Very unusual I think as boldly Isaac anno 1895 writes about his sexual desires. His views of women, however, are still completely caught up in the zeitgeist. The brain of the woman claims Isaac was small, cramped, limited, as a sparrow, so she could hardly see through the beak out and understand. Here, would it still a need to instruct looking at his wife Esther a better (less impaired by the problems of married life): It has as he studies; it has opened a dental practice

Alon hilum novel “The House of Rajanis” is very special -. disclose a time picture full of poetry which dares brave, traits of the Arabs and the Jews, and to describe their behavior which one is the cause of a political conflict that holds the world remains in suspense.