A captivating narrative delving into the lives of three generations of women torn apart by circumstance and the poignant quest to reunite them as a family.
Set against a rich historical backdrop, The Woman Beyond the Sea intricately follows the intertwined destinies of a daughter, mother, and grandmother, each leading separate lives until their narratives converge, binding their hearts together.
Eliya finds herself shattered after her husband abruptly ends their marriage in a Parisian café, prompting a desperate act of self-harm. As she seeks solace and healing, Eliya is driven to reconstruct the fractured pieces of her existence and unravel her family's complex history.
In her poignant odyssey, Eliya discovers unexpected love, rekindles familial bonds, and embarks on a journey of self-discovery alongside her mother, Lily, who was orphaned in her infancy. Together, they embark on a quest to unearth the truths of their identities and the mysterious woman whose actions on a fateful Christmas Eve set their intertwined stories in motion.

Immersed in the intricate narrative, I journeyed through the lives of compelling characters like Lily, the infant left at a convent's doorstep and raised by nuns, and her daughter, grappling with feelings of neglect from her mother. Echoes of past tragedies reverberate as Lily, haunted by the loss of her first child, struggles to overcome her anguish, leaving a profound impact on her family.

The tale delves into the depths of generational trauma, exploring themes of loss, abandonment, and the quest for redemption. Despite the weighty subject matter, the author handles sensitive topics such as infant loss, suicide attempts, and depression with grace and empathy.

While the story is emotionally challenging, it ultimately delivers a message of resilience and hope. Through the characters' journeys of forgiveness and letting go, the narrative highlights the transformative power of releasing the past and embracing the possibilities of the future. As I closed the final pages, I felt not weighed down by sorrow, but uplifted by the profound lessons of healing and growth embedded within the narrative.

Thank you Amazon Crossing for accepting my request to read and review The Woman Beyond the Sea.

Note: This has been translated to English.

Stars: 3

This was just okay for me. The story itself was too long working too hard at developing three women, several cultures, and a war time period (not successfully).

The book is somewhat convoluted. The author is trying to keep secrets, confidences, and still have an epic ending. I was confused and frustrated several times trying to stick with a timeline.

Of note, I am not proficient at book translations. I have read a few and understand they are puzzles.

My biggest problem is that all three women are alive. The two main women are not clearly developed and I feel like the third woman came out of no where and took over the story.

There are pieces written well, however as a whole I think another edit is needed.

The Woman Beyond the Sea is a mesmerizing second novel by acclaimed Israeli writer Sarit Yishai-Levi, translated into English by Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann. Ms. Yishai-Levi’s first novel,The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem,won several awards in Israel and abroad. I’m grateful to Ms. Yishai-Levi, publisher Amazon Crossing, and NetGalley for providing me a digital advanced readers copy of The Woman Beyond the Sea. My review is voluntarily.

The book is chock full of emotion as it tells the tale of three generations of Jewish women who live through the turbulent beginnings of modern-day Israel. The emotions of these women, and the men in their lives, is palpable. I felt deeply for them as they struggled not only to survive but also to find love and happiness in their lives. Although much of the book is dedicated to the negative aspects of the women’s lives, it also provides insight into forgiveness and healing. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this fascinating novel, and now I look forward to reading Ms. Yishai-Levi’s first novel,The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem.

Thank you NetGalley, Publishers, and Sarit Yishai-Levi for gifting me a copy of The Woman Beyond the Sea in return for my honest opinion.

4/5 stars

A mesmerizing novel about three generations of women who have lost each other—and the quest to weave them back into a family.

An immersive historical tale spanning the life stories of three women, The Woman Beyond the Sea traces the paths of a daughter, mother, and grandmother who lead entirely separate lives, until finally their stories and their hearts are joined together.

Eliya thinks that she’s finally found true love and passion with her charismatic and demanding husband, an aspiring novelist—until he ends their relationship in a Paris café, spurring her suicide attempt. Seeking to heal herself, Eliya is compelled to piece together the jagged shards of her life and history.

Eliya’s heart-wrenching journey leads her to a profound and unexpected love, renewed family ties, and a reconciliation with her orphaned mother, Lily. Together, the two women embark on a quest to discover the truth about themselves and Lily’s own origins…and the unknown woman who set their stories in motion one Christmas Eve.

This was a mesmerizing story about three woman who have lost their ways and their journies to find their way back. At the beginning of this novel, I had a difficult time understanding what was happening but I believe that is a translation issue.

This was a historical fiction that was different than any I have read in the past. It was a refreshing change from previous reads. While it does focus on war it was one I had never read about, the Yom Kippur War, it offered a refreshing take and new places for us to explore other than Paris, England, and Scotland. While some aspects did take place in Paris we also were taken to Tel Aviv and Yugoslavia. Two new places I have yet to read about!

I would recommend it to any historical Fiction lovers who are looking for a different country to explore, this is definitely the book for you.

The family in this book have a difficult time understanding one another and I was unable to relate. I appreciated learning about different cultures.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC>

Stunning, deep, interesting and just fantastic. "The Woman Beyond the Sea" by Sarit Yishai-Levi (Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann: Translator) was excellent. Set in Israel, across several generations, before Israel was established till about 1970's, this book was layered and faceted with so much dysfunction, pain, love and passion, I was impressed, mesmerized and fascinated. Tackling issues of abandonment, loss and biases, I highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

I can still not cone up with the perfect review for this book. It is told from the perspective of a mother, father, and daughter. They are struggling to understand one another and one tragic accident will make them reevaluate how they treat each other.
The detailed description, character building, and storyline are impressive, immersive, and spot on. I can not wait to read more by this author.

This was a heartbreaking story of love, loss, forgiveness and the generational trauma experienced by three generations of women. It was also a story learning to let go and the perseverance of working through difficult issues, learning to let go of the past and becoming the family they truly desired. While the book has much heartbreak, it was an interesting read. Thanks #NetGalley

Like Sarit Yishai Levi's first novel, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, this centers around unlikeable women and a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship before and after the creation of the State of Israel. 25-year-old Eliya left her miserable marriage, spiraled into depression, and attempted to take her own life. She never felt loved by her mother Lily, who was still mourning the death of her first child 30+ years prior, visiting his grave every single day. At least she had the love and support of her father, but his blind unconditional devotion to Lily was hard to believe. A difficult read in the beginning, the introduction of more likeable characters like Eliya's Ladino speaking grandparents from Macedonia and her new boyfriend Eldad made the story more compelling. And once it was revealed that Lily's mother, who abandoned her as an infant at the door of a Jerusalem convent, was Ruchel, the young woman from Mea She'arim who Gabriel Armoza's family rejected because she was Ashkenazi (from The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem), I couldn't put it down. Interestingly, her story is depcited completely differently in the television adaptation.

It is a story about complex family connections, secrets, and destiny. Simply put, it is a harrowing and moving novel that tells the beautiful story of three women united by an unbreakable bond of blood, origin and identity. I liked the style in which the author tells us the fate of the main characters. It's exactly what I like about family drama going across decades. So here are historical events, difficult emotions, and heart and life-breaking circumstances. This book is not a quick or easy read, but... oh my god, what a read.

Tw: emotional abuse, physical abuse and rape
The Woman Beyond The Sea, by Sarit Yishai-Levi, is a touching and gut wrenching historical novel, about the trauma we inherit from our family. To a lesser extent, the book also focuses on forgiveness.
Since I'm curious about the history of Israel, in the decades before the second World War, I'm always looking for books that take place there, near the beginning of the 20th century. That's the main reason that I chose this book. In that sense, it didn't disappoint and I found the history interesting. Though, it seemed to focus more on the later half of the century, mainly the 70s. That's more a personal preference than a negative reflection on the book.
I found myself rooting for all the main characters, especially mother and daughter: Lily and Eliya. While I felt for them, I had a hard time liking any of the main characters, at times. Lily came off as especially cold and self absorbed throughout most of the story. The ending was ok, in that I liked it but, at times, it felt a little disjointed and I struggled to "believe it".

TITLE: The Woman Beyond the Sea
AUTHOR: Sarit Yishai-Levi
TRANSLATED BY: Gilah Kahn Hoffman
PUB DATE: 03.21.2023

A mesmerizing novel about three generations of women who have lost each other―and the quest to weave them back into a family.

An immersive historical tale spanning the life stories of three women, The Woman Beyond the Sea traces the paths of a daughter, mother, and grandmother who lead entirely separate lives, until finally their stories and their hearts are joined together.

I found the story historically immersive and fascinating. As a historical fiction reader, I love reading different historical perspectives - this particular story highlights Paris to Tel Aviv and Yugoslavia during the Yom Kippur War and British ruled Israel. It’s a story that is heartbreaking and yet hopeful that illuminates three generations of resilient women.

The Woman Beyond the Sea starts strong and I was immediately drawn into the story of Eliya's failed marriage and awful husband set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, but then it began to drift. Yishai-Levi introduces Eliya's mother and her backstory and I felt adrift and anxious to return to Eliya and action rather than the inner workings of her relationship with her mother.
The writing is beautiful and I'm glad I read it, if anything just for the history of a region and time I was not familiar with, but it was too slow of a build for me to really get into the story.

The Woman Beyond the Sea is one of the most difficult books I’ve read, diving into tough themes that impact a range of characters. It begins with Eliya, a young woman in a toxic relationship. It’s an abusive marriage that ends when her no-good husband, Ari, has an affair and unceremoniously leaves Eliya. She returns home to Israel to live with her parents, but her depression leaves her feeling suicidal. The first cracks of light emerge when she begins therapy. The book then explores her mother Lily’s past and the extensive traumas the led to her being such a cold woman in her adulthood. From life in an orphanage to the loss of her firstborn child, Lily’s poor emotional health has been longer-lasting and more pervasive, negatively impacting her relationships both with her husband and her daughter. If all of that trauma sounds like a lot, know that there’s even more I’m not mentioning.

On the one hand, this novel can feel excessively sad. How many horrors must one family face? For some readers, it may be too much. But even so, I liked that the author chose to explore such traumas as she did. It feels like she’s painting a portrait of generational trauma, and of the ways one person’s pain can in turn be inflicted on those around them. Instead of simply wallowing in misery, The Woman Beyond the Sea is about bringing those traumas into the light and openly addressing them. It’s about healing through therapy and opening the lines of communication.

One wonderful aspect of this healing process is seeing Eliya and Lily slowly but surely rebuild their relationship. Despite the chasm between them, they eventually realize the love they share and how the only way to heal is to support each other. This mother-daughter relationship starts in a terrible place, but I loved seeing them grow stronger together.

I also appreciated the characters of Shaul and Eldad. Shaul, in particular, I felt bad for most of the time. His wife Lily is awful to him and isolates him, and yet he never gives up on her. He may be too kind for his own good, but I felt for him and wished his family situation could improve. Eldad has his own traumas, but he proves to be a solid support for Eliya after her divorce.

There is a mystery surrounding Lily’s mother, the titular woman beyond the sea. Whoever she is, and whatever her reason was for giving up her day-old baby, this woman seems to be an important link in the family tree. She’s another part of the generational trauma, but perhaps by finding her, all three generations of women can find inner peace.

Most of this novel is set in Israel, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I haven’t read much fiction set in Israel, and I loved getting to know this country and its two largest cities. The story also gives a peek into the culture and the people, as well as its recent history of wars and internal conflicts. Religion is another major theme. Lily was brought up in a Christian convent, but later learned she was born to a Jewish mother. Shaul’s family is Jewish, too, and it was interesting learning about both sides of the family in terms of culture and religion.

The Woman Beyond the Sea is translated from Hebrew, and the translation was wonderfully done. It flows well, and although the chapters vary widely in length, the pacing is generally good throughout the novel. It can get repetitive and over-indulgent, but generally I liked the narrative. The open-ended final chapter leaves the story up for interpretation. For me, it felt like the right way to close a book about the cyclical nature of family relationships, trauma, and healing.

The Woman Beyond the Sea is a heavy read, and you may want to review the extensive content warnings before diving in. It’s about mental health, trauma, fraught relationships, and how pain is passed down from one generation to the next. Yet even with all its dark themes, there is also an ember of healing woven in, too. Through therapy, open communication, and seeking out healthy coping mechanisms and relationships, the characters find themselves on the precipice of a new, happier stage of life.

Perhaps due to the translation, I found this book difficult to read. As three generations of women search for their way in the world and in their home in Israel, the exploration of their individual journeys is intriguing. Unfortunately, again the writing seemed awkward and leaden. Only my opinion.

I enjoyed this book; it gave me insight into life in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem's Jewish and Christian cultures. The book centered around one particular woman whose life affected many others. Each character told their own story and which flowed together into a richly moving tale of family and healing.

I didn’t enjoy this because the characters were all the worst versions of themselves. I can love a book with unlikable characters as long as the author makes it clear they are supposed to be unlikable. In this I believe that she thought they were redeemable and their worst traits were just idiosyncrasies.

There is so much misogyny and gaslighting in this book that I absolutely could not finish it. Very rarely do I rate or review a book I didn’t complete, but I knew that my finishing this book would not in any way change my outlook in the book as a whole.

This book is a wonderful piece of literary fiction. The characters show us love; grief, abandonment, and reunification. The author presents a plot that is woven with history of a family that spans over 30 years. I could not put this book down because I fell in love with all of the characters and I needed to see how their story would end. I highly recommend this novel to readers who want to get lost in a family saga.

This was a wonderful book could not put it down and was sorry when I finished it.
Three woman who had lost each other and each woman knew that something was not correct in their lives and did not how to put it right.
The book deserves more than five stars but obviously cannot give it more.
The story starts with Eliya who has a broken heart from her husband who never loved her and left her for other women, To Eliyas mother who she did nothing but argue with and could do nothing right, to a grandmother she never knew she had.
Read this book everyone it’s wonderful.

Really enjoyed this! Great journey. Made me cry. Thank you for allowing me to review this advanced copy.