While I’m not usually a fan of short stories, this one sounded really interesting to me. Over the course of my life, I’ve known a few Israelis living in the United States, and while they always seemed content to me, I’ve always wondered what it’s like living in a different country than you grew up in. Come to think of it, I’ve been surrounded by immigrants for my entire life—my father lived in several countries before coming to America, and my family seems to attract a multicultural group of immigrants into our friendship circles, which makes me curious about moving to another country someday. Back to the book, though, the author is famous in Israeli bookish circles, and this is her first book made available in English, translated by Jessica Cohen. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

To start with, each short story felt long enough for the plot to unfold and keep me hooked. I was equally interested in each of the three stories: Ilana, a Hebrew instructor at a college in the Midwest struggling with the arrival of a new professor in her department; Miriam, who comes to California to visit her new grandson, but discovers a situation she wasn’t expecting; and Efrat, the mother of a girl in middle school, who is trying her best to help her daughter fit in, but goes too far.

Each story was populated with characters who felt realistic and never came across as flat. I found myself empathizing with not only the main characters, but some of the side characters as well. Much like in real life, there aren’t any characters who are singled out as all-out villains, but they’re more like people who are morally gray. I was amazed at Arad’s ability to create space for character development in short stories, and have them demonstrate growth in a limited time.

For Ilana, she seems to be fighting an uphill battle against staying relevant in a world that is increasingly moving on without her. She had initially moved from Israel to America to teach Hebrew at a Midwestern college for two years, but wound up staying for good. Since the job was what she moved to America for, Ilana wound up structuring her life around her career—she met her husband and all of her friends through the college, and looks forward to the gathering of the department. But when a new Hebrew literature professor joins the faculty and endorses some views that challenge not only Ilana’s own beliefs but her position within the department, she feels trapped and doesn’t know what to do. It’s a bit claustrophobic to be in her thoughts at times, but I found myself feeling so much empathy towards her.

When it came to Miriam, I really loved her character. She went through so much change in her section of the book—from when she first arrived and struggled with her expectations not meeting the reality, although from my understanding, her son and daughter-in-law weren’t thrilled about her coming for a three-week visit. It was beautiful to watch all of the characters learn how to adapt to each other and start to tentatively connect for the first time in a long time. It also highlights some cultural differences between Americans and Israelis in how they socialize.

Finally, Efrat is a mom who just wants to help her daughter, Libby. She’s in middle school and struggling to find her circle of friends, and Efrat starts to take small steps to help her along, but eventually she starts to have difficulty managing boundaries.

I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to read this book, and especially the chance to hear this as an audiobook, so that the beautiful accent of the Israeli characters came through in the reading—Ilana has a soft, muted accent as a result of spending many years in this country, while Miriam has a heavier accent. I loved listening to Robin Siegerman narrate this story.

It seems like boundaries are a running theme in the book, as well as finding a sense of home—not necessarily a place, but more of finding your people, a place where you feel comfortable and welcome. Family, both the kind that you’re born into and the kind that you choose for yourself, is another important theme that can be found in each of the three stories in this book, making it always interesting to read and relate to. Finally, the pace was nice and consistent for this story, and I know that I will be hoping for more translations of Maya Arad’s brilliant works.

The Hebrew Teacher is a collection of three novellas by debut-novelist Maya Arad. All center around Israeli women in the US - the eponymous Hebrew teacher who is an adjunct lecturer at an unnamed Midwestern university, one who is visiting her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in Palo Alto, and one who lives there with her husband and two children. All of the novellas focus on relationships, both professional and personal and convey the complexity of navigating modern life with appropriate touches of poignancy. The first story, The Hebrew Teacher, is the strongest of the three but the others are all interesting and well written; Jessica Cohen does an excellent job of translating the works. The audio book is enhanced by Robin Siegerman's excellent narration.

As a fellow Jew, I despise that there's yet another book written by someone who clearly doesn't respect our promise and laws with G-d. Zionism is genocide. Free Palestine.

Interesting stories with the first one the best of the three. Narrator is very good with voices/accents. I think this will have a limited audience, though.

Please note: I was given the audio-book edition of this book by the publisher, through Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.

This book is structured as three novellas, all set in Paolo Alto, all focusing on Israeli women in America and they get increasingly domestic.
I enjoyed the first one: it raised questions of idealism, the changing relationship with the State of Israel and was particularly relevant and poignant in the current situation.

The second one was about a family whose grandmother comes to stay. the son is an emotionless robot, the daughter-in-law is self-centred and the Bubbah is dependent and needy. An unpleasant, unhappy family.

If the last novella had been the first I would have DNFd this. An overindulged daughter, parents who don't seem to like each other, constant fighting and bickering. A slightly sweet twist in the last paragraph.

All of these novellas where true to a certain kind of family. They are banal in their unhappiness, but I found reading about them fairly tedious. It didn't help that the narrator was quite good, but she made all the children sound so whiny - except all the children were so whiny.

I truly enjoyed this book which is comprised of three novellas, all dealing with Israeli women in the United States. Although very different from each other, the unifying theme of being Israeli while living in the United States and the pressures that it brings, especially in today's world.

The first story is that of a Hebrew teacher at a university in the midwest who clashes with the politics of another Israeli professor. She is Zionist and he is not. This theme is most relevant given the current situation in Gaza. The second story tells of a woman who comes to visit her son and his family in California after many years of not seeing him. His family is mired in problems and she is an onlooker who they all but reject. Even her baby grandson seems unwilling to welcome her into his life. The third story, which is my favorite, is that of a family whose adolescent daughter is no in the "in-crowd" and will do anything to be accepted by these girls. Even her mother becomes a pawn in the game, taking over her smart phone accounts to cyber bully the other children. This is a story that hits home for families who are dealing with such issues in their own homes.

These stories are provocative, real and raw. The writing is excellent and I listened to the entire book in one day, as I was riveted. There are lessons to be learned from these stories regarding Israeli culture and Jewish traditions. I highly recommend this book. The only worry that I have is that given the current attitude in the US right now toward Israel and Israelis and Jews, this book might not be one folks would willingly pick up.

The Hebrew Teacher written by Maya Arad; Jessica Cohen (Translator) and narrated by Robin Siegerman is a stunning collection of three novella's about threee very different women of jewish faith in three separate timelines.

The ovservations of these three women were simply beautiful, emotional, heart-rending and yet inspiring. The resilience of character resonated between all three of them as they navigate worlds outside of their comfort zone.

Ilana, the Hebrew teacher is coming to terms with her age and the change in her career, from being celebrated as a leader in her field, to decades later, her department being made obsolete and experiencing extreme resentment from one of her colleagues who has very different views on what should and should not be discussed within Miriams class

The adorable Miriam, flying on her own from Israel to Silicon valley to try and reconnect with her son after the passing of her husband. She is fearful to put a foot wrong and struggles to connect with her son's wife Maya, who is impassive and sees Miriam as interfering. The multiple povs in this story are brilliantly written as well as the progression of the small families relationship

I connected less with Efrat, but her story was equally poignant, trying to help her young daughter through life by connecting online and stumbling into a world she did not expect

A very insightful and powerful collection of stories that make for essential reading

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author Maya Arad; Jessica Cohen (Translator) and narrator Robin Siegerman for this stunning ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

3 short stories about Israeli women now living in the US. The stories are not interconnected but are impactful on their own.
1. The Hebrew Teacher
Ilana is an established adjunct Hebrew instructor, her career for 40 years. A young Hebrew lit professor joins the staff and they ‘discuss’ Israeli politics but don’t see eye to eye. The details make this story shine and the relevance to politics really hits home.
2. Grandma
Miriam is visiting her son, daughter-in-law and grandson for the first time in their California home. She wasn’t invited but desperately wants to spend time with her grandson and be Grandma. This story is about family, life choices and enjoying what you have.
3. A Teenage Daughter
Efrat, also in California, is a mom to a teenage daughter and younger son. She is challenged by the new technology landscape teenagers have to navigate, bullying/friendship amongst the girls at school and how she can ‘help’ her daughter fit in.

All are generational stories that have relevance in today’s world. I would say probably for an older audience given the protagonists are 40+. The narration is great and easy to listen to.