This is a beautifully written, well researched historical fiction, told in dual timelines. In 1995, Zohara is living in New York, and learns of the sudden death of her mother, Saida. She travels back to Israel, reconnects with family and friends, and slowly starts to uncover the history of her mother as a young woman. She knew her mother had been in an immigrant camp as a young wife in 1950, with her husband and young son. She did not realize that while there, she met young Yaqub at the riverbed, who was entranced by both her beauty and her lovely singing voice. They fell in love, but Saida was a married woman, and their love could never be. Through her fictional characters, Ayelet Tsabari has brought the history of the immigrant camps in Israel of the 1950's, including the frequent disappearance of young children, as well as the turbulent events and protests that occurred in 1995. vividly to life. There is much of the history of both times that I never realized. This book is so much more, though, than just the history. It is a story of courage, the resilience of women, and how they utilized singing together to keep their unwritten stories alive. I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this revew are my own.

Songs of the Brokenhearted
This novel was so much for me, a learning experience, a beautiful tender love story, coming of age, family relations, just to name few.
The story is about Yemeni Jews who have arrived in Israel in 1949-1950 and their descendants. I learned a lot, because I didn’t know anything about Yemeni Jews, how they were put in camps instead of what they expected from the desired Holy Land. They were discriminated against by the Eastern European Ashkenazy Jews , who treated them as lower class citizens. Many couldn’t read and write, and the women sang of their life’s and their love.Saide and Yaqub meet at a water fountain near their refugee camp as young adults and fall into forbidden love. Saide is married and has a baby, Rafael. Rafael’s disappearance Is a heartbreaking story, especially finding out that it was not an isolated incident. Many Yemeni Jewish babies “ disappeared “ and were given to Ashkenazi Jewish parents to adopt them. The story goes back and forth between the early days of Saide’s and Jaqub’s meeting and later in the early 1990’s after Saide’s death, when her estranged daughter Zohara returns from America for her mother’s funeral and finds out secrets about her mother’s life she never knew. I also learned that the famous Oslo accords for peace was not favored by everyone in Israel. The writing is beautiful, for me definitely a 5 star debut novel.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and author for the advanced copy. Opinions are my own only.

In Songs for the Brokenhearted, Tsabari explores the fragile and often fractured sense of identity that accompanies displacement. The characters are typically immigrants or second-generation children of immigrants, grappling with what it means to belong, to fit into the cultural fabric of both their adopted homes and their ancestral roots. Whether set in the busy streets of Tel Aviv or in foreign landscapes, Tsabari's stories evoke the deep sense of estrangement that can come from navigating the push and pull of different worlds.

Tsabari’s characters are intensely human—flawed, vulnerable, and aching with desires for connection and resolution. Their internal worlds are carefully crafted, with each story offering a glimpse into their struggles and small victories. In many stories, there is a palpable sense of loss—whether it’s the loss of home, love, or a sense of self. Tsabari doesn’t offer easy answers or tidy conclusions, which makes the emotional experience of reading the collection all the more impactful. These characters, like many of us, are left grappling with unresolved emotions and fractured relationships.

Her writing style is intimate and poetic, yet grounded in the everyday realities of her characters’ lives. Her descriptions of places—whether bustling urban landscapes or quiet, introspective moments—are evocative, giving readers a sensory experience that feels both familiar and distant. This blend of intimacy and distance is one of the central tensions in her work, reflecting the characters’ own journeys through the spaces between cultures and identities.

One of the most striking aspects of Songs for the Brokenhearted is how it bridges the gap between the personal and the political. Tsabari doesn’t shy away from addressing the complexities of cultural and national identities. Through her story, readers gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of being an immigrant in Israel, with its layered histories and social tensions, and the challenges of assimilation or retention of cultural heritage.
Ayelet Tsabari’s talent for capturing the intricacies of human relationships, alongside the broader context of cultural and historical dislocation, makes this collection a powerful exploration of what it means to seek home—in the world and within oneself. Her ability to blend lyrical prose with vivid realism ensures that these stories linger in the mind long after the final page is turned.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.”

Happy publicationweek to this stunning novel! I have had Tsabari’s memoir, The Art of Leaving, sitting on my shelf for far too long and now, thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this advanced reader copy of her debut novel, I am bumping it up as a priority on my tbr.

Zohara grew up in the shadow of her brother’s disappearance and her father’s passing before being sent to a prestigious boarding school at 14, where she began to reject her heritage, including her mother and their complicated relationship. Now coming back to her homeland to bury her mother, Zohara, thirty-one and weary and seemingly aimless, begins to see her history in a new light and gain new perspective on her life as she finds a greater sense of her place in the world.

We mostly get Zohara’s present day POV but are also provided a few POVs from her nephew in the present and her father in the past. In a lot of ways I sympathized with Zohara and really loved this story. Though I have yet to visit Israel, between the vivid writing and the stories from a college friend who grew up there and my mom who visited several years ago, I felt like I was there; that I could see it, feel the warmth, hear and taste the sights.

I didn’t know about the immigrant camps for non-native born Jews when Israel became a legitimized nation and that there were many infants that vanished during those early years; infants claimed by the camps and hospitals to have died but nothing verifying such claims. I can’t imagine that heartbreak. This story dives into not just the hidden history of the small yet resilient nation of Israel and its inhabitants but also the complexity of family relationships. The title itself is perfect for this novel and while I loved it, it does address heavy topics. Warnings include death of parents (medical illnesses), vanishing children, mentions of the Holocaust and antisemitism, minor drug use and profanity, and some infidelity. Still, I highly suggest you pick it up! 4.5 rounded to 5

This is a lovely novel about Zohara and her family beginning in 1950 and vacillating between then and 1995. It takes place in both Yemen and Israel as we witness how the family changes as they are forced into an immigrant camp and how nephew Yoni eventually writes an essay explaining their misfortunes...and their joys. It's both spiritual and lyrical as these stories will live on in time! I knew very little about this situation and am grateful to have read about their heartbreaks but also the belief systems that kept them faithful through it all!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Super interesting story about refugees to Israel from Yemen in the early development of Israel juxtaposed with Israel during the 90’s. Beautifully written, somewhat atmospheric. There is love and loss and a lot of personal growth. While I have been to Israel, I was not familiar with the towns in the story. That didn’t matter, the story was still compelling. It is important that we understand the culture and history better especially when the media reports are skewed. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This is such a wonderful novel, the first I’ve read by Ayelet Tsabari; I will definitely be seeking out her earlier work. The story takes place in Israel in 1995 as well as a storyline taking place in 1950. Zohara, while in Thailand, gets a call that her mother died suddenly. She immediately returns home and starts to learn that her seemingly simple mother was more complex and unknown to her than she ever imagined.

I really enjoyed Zohara’s journey of discovery as well as her nephew’s. The author seamlessly integrated all of the characters and storylines, delivering an impactful and engaging novel, set against a backdrop of the complicated history of Israel. For me, the best books are ones where I am learning about other cultures while also enjoying the narrative. I am excited to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

From the first lines of SONGS FOR THE BROKENHEARTED by Ayelet Tsabari, I was captivated by this story of love and identity, the modern-day Zohara traveling back to Israel, to her homeland, to mourn the mother who never seemed to love her, was forever enamored with bleach and all the injustices that Zohara had inflicted upon her, starting with pregnancy. I ached over the long-ago forbidden love between singer and writer and the current day young woman attempting to decipher truth from the secrets she uncovers and the realities she confronts. More than this, I was entranced by a beautifully written story about a time and place I know nothing about and the restless urge to find home and family, a sense of belonging in the world. A wonderful, unforgettable story. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari was a compelling story!
This historical story is so beautifully written.
Tsabari pulled me into this story and kept me there.
This is a gripping story of family, love, and friendship.

I loved this book! Alternating between multiple perspectives and told in dual timelines (1950 and 1995) mainly set in Israel, SONGS FOR THE BROKENHEARTED tells a compelling story you won't want to put down. In 1950, Saida and her family have recently left Yemen for Israel. She meets Yaqub at an immigrant camp, and they fall in love amidst a sea of chaos and uncertainty. However, they were never supposed to fall for each other—and they certainly can't be together. Decades later, in 1995, Zohara, Saida's daughter, is now living in NYC and is largely estranged from her mother and sister, Lizzie. But when she gets a call from Lizzie telling her that their mother has passed away, she immediately books a flight to Israel with no return ticket. Soon, Zohara finds herself on an unexpected new path that will lead to shocking truths about her family, leading her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, her heritage, and even her own future.

This was such a great read! I always enjoy stories about family and books with Jewish rep, so I knew SONGS FOR THE BROKENHEARTED would be an absolute must-read. It was gorgeously written, the characters were so well-developed, and Tsabari tackles a variety of complex themes. I loved learning more about Yemeni Jews and their culture, as well as Israeli history and culture overall. Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

SONGS FOR THE BROKENHEARTED by Ayelet Tsabari is a heart-wrenching and illuminating story of love and family. It is told in dual timelines, 1950 and 1995, mainly set in Israel. In 1950, young Yemeni immigrants, Yaqub and Saida, meet in a crowded immigrant tent camp in Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel, where thousands of Yemeni Jews have landed, searching for a better life. They fall in love, but a life together can never be. Saida is married and has a small baby boy. Yaqub is forced to move on without Saida. In 1995, Saida’s daughter, Zohara, is a graduate student in New York City and rarely keeps in touch with her mother, her sister, Lizzie, or her nephew, Yoni. But when Lizzie calls to say their mother has died, Zohara immediately heads back to Israel. While cleaning out her mother’s house, she makes some puzzling discoveries that lead her on a path to learn more about her mother and her family’s history. Shocking secrets are revealed that lead Zohara to question everything about her parents, her heritage and what she wants for her own future. I enjoyed learning about the Yemeni women’s traditions of singing and songwriting. It was obvious that the research for this book was extensive. I enjoyed this complex and emotional story and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari is a historical novel set in Israel and New York City. The book is set in the 1950s and 1990s and has multiple main characters. The story is told in four parts and is rich with history. The main characters tell their stories in alternating chapters as we see and live life through each of their perspectives.

When Zohara is forced to return home to Israel upon the death of her mother, many surprises are waiting for her. She rekindles some old friendships and makes new ones but is at a crossroads. Dissatisfied with her life in New York and the topic for her dissertation, she doesn’t know what to do with her life moving forward or where to turn.

While cleaning out her mother’s house, she realizes she never knew her mother, and she learns new things about her and her life. Her nephew, Yoni, who was close to his grandmother, is at a loss after her death. We learn of his beliefs and the problems facing Israelis due to government actions. When he mixes with the wrong people at a young age, we see how he has decisions to make, and not all are wise choices. We also learn about Zohara and Lillie’s mother’s life and how little they knew her. Saida broke from tradition in many ways, and she and her friend Yaqub met at the wrong place at the wrong time. But were they even really friends?

There is a depth to all the stories, of which there were many. There are essential supporting characters that add layers to the story. Vivid descriptions, words, and details are important to the locations. There are many unexpected twists and turns that are all sorted out by the end in unexpected ways. Loose ends are tied up in the past and the present especially when the past and present meet. The only thing missing was a glossary, which would have been helpful in understanding the foreign words and expressions used. It was a satisfying read and one from which I learned many things.

Songs for the Brokenhearted is a beautiful title since songs play a vital role in this historical romance that had me savoring each word and relationship. I look forward to reading more books by Ms. Tsabari.

The review is posted on NovelsAlive.

This deeply moving story sheds light on the profound struggles faced by Yemeni girls and women.

At its heart, the story centers on the emotional fallout following the death of Saida, the matriarch of the Haddad family. Her passing, along with the unspoken secrets she leaves behind, becomes pivotal as the story progresses.

Saida’s voice lingers through songs, oral history, and cultural memory, compelling her loved ones to confront the truth about themselves. Her daughter, Zohara, and her grandson, Yoni, embark on profound journeys of self-discovery, grappling with the tensions between personal, cultural, and political identity as they navigate their futures.

Themes of grief, displacement, and fractured relationships abound. The story also details the harsh realities of immigrant life. Against this backdrop, the complex political tensions of the time, particularly the conflict between Israel and Palestine during the Oslo Peace Accord, are skillfully woven into the story, adding emotional complexity.

Ultimately, this is a poignant exploration of family, love, and the enduring struggle to find one's place in the world.


Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

It is always a delight to pick up a debut novel and feel like you’ve made a wonderful discovery. This is a work of historical fiction that reads in part as a lyrical, literary narrative while at the same time provides an abundance of educational context to the history of the Jewish people that fled Yemin and their customs. Written in a dual timeline, the story begins in 1950 when the Jewish Yemenis migrated from their Arab homeland to the newly formed nation of Israel, where they lived in crowded camps under harsh conditions. It is here that we meet Yaqub, an unmarried young man who has a penchant for documenting his feelings in a journal as he sits by the river. It is at the river that he has a chance meeting with Saida who he had first seen in the camp and who is a young married woman that captures his heart with her beautiful singing. The next storyline is 1995, where we meet Zohara, the daughter of Saida who lives in New York City but is called to back to Israel upon her mother’s death. With strong themes of the mother/daughter relationship and what transpires when family truths are revealed, this story will take you on a cultural and familial journey. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

The plot was kind of complex. In the 1950's Saida and her family have left Yemen for Israel. At a camp she meets Yaqub and they fall in love but being together is not possible. In 1995 Zohara, living in NYC, goes back to Israel upon Saida's death. There is a lot her and her sister, Lizzie, didn't know about Saida and some of the secrets are unraveled during her stay to clean out her mother's house. There were words used that I had no luck finding a meaning on either Kindle or Google. All the talk of Israeli politics went over my head as I don't know much about it and it wasn't explained. Finally I just decided to skim all that. To be honest I'm not sure I really liked Zohara all that much but I got the sense she didn't feel like she belonged anywhere, not New York or Israel. When Saida was in the camp she had a young son, Rafael, who went missing. She was told that he died but there was no evidence. I wish the author had gone into that side of the story. The ending didn't really wrap things up for me.

It was very well written and the author did a good job depicting what it was like in the town and in Israel. I think in the hands of someone who is more in tune with the politics and the culture this book would be wonderful.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House for providing me with a digital copy.

What would it be like to go to the land of your dreams and feel unwelcome by people who also dreamed of coming there?

This novel is a story about a woman and her mother. It begins with a flashback in a Yemeni refugee camp in Israel. Before I opened this book, I knew literally nothing of the Yemeni Jews who left there homes to find the promised land, only to be shunted into refugee camps where many longed for home.

The love story that is at the center of the larger story is poignant, even heartbreaking, but what is so fascinating is the way it affects others literally generations down the line. And there are several generations throughout he story.

Zahara is called home to Israel because her mother has died, the mother whose secrets she never knew. Yoni, her nephew, is grieving the grandmother who raised him (though his mother, Zahara’s sister, is still alive) and he is inconsolable. Yaqub, who begins the story back in 1950, is in love with a married woman he meets when he is charmed by her singing as washes dishes in the river in the refugee camp.

Of course that woman, Saida, is the mother and grandmother who is now gone with parts of her story unknown to her family. Late in the book, when Saida’s story begins to come to light, Zohara’s sister says “How many of us ever really know our parents?” My own parents have been dead for over forty years, but it set me to thinking about what I really knew about them. What I knew, what I know, has become mythic and wouldn’t easily allow for the kind of new information Zohara needs to absorb.

The story is poignant and complex. The whole novel is a deep dive into another culture. In this day of complex questions about Israel and other cultures, I hope that many will read Tsanari’s novel. It may break your heart but it’s worth the time.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Quite beautiful though a but slow-paced. I knew very little about the subject material so that added to my interest and I appreciated the acknowledgements for the added info.

As posted to GoodReads

Thank you NetGalley, Random House and Ayelet Tsabari for the opportunity to rad an advanced copy of Songs for the Broken-hearted.
This is a beautifully written family drama about a young Yemeni woman who discovered her recently deceased mother’s secret romance. Initially, I found Zohara to be unlikeable, unhappy, spoiled young adult who needs to grow up. As the story unfolds, many family tragedies are revealed through various characters and Zohara’s behavior makes more sense. I loved how my perspective of her changes and I was rooting for her by the end. I loved her mother’s story of the immigration camp, her early marriage and the norms of her culture at the time. It was quite interesting how mother and daughter seem so different yet the phrase-We become our mothers- was in the back of my mind. Saida’s love story was so sweet and emotional that I can’t stop thinking about it.
The conflict in the Middle East also plays a big part in this story. I know I do not understand even a small portion of why the fighting continues but how tragic to live your life under strict government control because of your beliefs.
Great characters, great story -five stars! I’m looking forward to more from this author.

This rich novel, with its dual timeline, is both entertaining and informative.

In 1950, Saida, one of the many Yemeni Jews who immigrated to Israel after the establishment of the country, is in an immigrant camp where she meets a shy young man named Yaqub. They fall in love, but it’s a forbidden relationship because Saida is married and has a young son.

In 1995, Zohara, a newly divorced grad student in New York City, receives a call from her older sister Lizzie telling her that their mother Saida has died. Zohara decides to return to Israel. While cleaning out her mother’s house, she learns that there is so much she didn’t know about her mother’s life. She uncovers Saida’s secrets and learns more about her heritage, as she also tries to determine her future.

The political unrest that is so much part of the history of Israel and Palestine is central in the second timeline. The Oslo Accords giving Palestinians more self-autonomy have been signed. Yoni, Zohara’s nephew who is grieving because of Saida’s death, becomes involved in protests against Prime Minister Rabin and his government’s agreement with the PLO.

I learned so much from this book. I learned about the migration of Yemeni Jews to Israel after 1948. They thought they were going to the Promised Land but conditions when they first arrived were abysmal. They lived in tents in an overcrowded camp which smelled of “sewage and sweat and mildew and rotten garbage.” Children were placed in nurseries and separated from their mothers. And it is during this time that Yemeni children went missing: a mother might go to see her child, only to be told he/she died overnight. Since bodies were not shown and death certificates not provided, people believed the children had been taken away to be adopted by Ashkenazi Jews: “It happened in Australia to children of Aboriginal descent. It happened in Canada with the Sixties Scoop, where they forcibly removed Indigenous children from their communities and placed them for adoption. ‘It’s a method of the dominant group to reeducate a community they believe is backward and primitive.’”

I was unaware of the prejudices amongst the Jewish communities. Mizrahi Jews from North Africa and the Middle East were targets of discrimination and mistreatment from those already established in Israel who were predominantly Ashkenazi. Yemeni Jews, “as Jews from Arab lands . . . had more in common with the local Arabs than with the Ashkenazi, who thought their culture was inferior, who saw the ‘Arabness’ as a problem to be solved.” One man described the Yemeni Jews as “’a people whose primitiveness is at its peak. Their level of education borderlines complete ignorance, and worse is their inability to absorb anything intellectual. . . . What will be the face of Israel with such populations?’” Certainly the Arab Jews seem to be treated as second-class citizens.

And then of course there’s the Nakba, the violent displacement and dispossession of Palestinians. Zohara mentions that her school textbooks spoke of the founding of Israel “as this magical coming together of Jews” with “little mention of the Palestinian tragedy.” Israel provided a home for “Holocaust survivors who had nowhere to go” but one of Yaqub’s friends asks, “’can we live here in peace knowing so many of the Arabs were displaced?’” Zohara thinks of Israel as “A country erected on the ruins of others, the oppression of others.”

I appreciated that the author depicts different political viewpoints. There are those in favour of the Oslo Accords and those opposed. Some see ceding any land to Palestinians as a betrayal of their “biblical birthright”; they’re the ones shouting, “’We have a total and absolute right to this place!’” Then there are others who feel the Accords don’t go far enough: “’There is no commitment by Israel to freeze settlements. They’re still building them. . . . And how come no one is talking about the Palestinian Right of Return? . . . acknowledging the tragedy would be a start . . . at the very least, we can speak about compensation.’”
As a young girl and woman, Zohara rejected her mother and her Yemeni culture. She was embarrassed by her mother, especially after she started attending an elite boarding school for gifted children in Jerusalem: “It was there that I became embarrassed by her accent . . . her Arabic name . . . her faith, her superstitions. The unfashionable flowery headscarf . . . the tang of spicy fenugreek emanating from her skin, the stains of turmeric that lingered on her hands.” One of Zohara’s friends points out that schools “’made us believe that to be Israeli, you had to reject your heritage, especially Mizrahi’” and adopt the “’idealized Ashkenazi culture.’”

After her return to Israel, Zohara comes to see her mother in a new light; she comes to understand how much she had to give up to come to a new country. Zohara thinks of the loss of Saida’s son but Saida also lost her youngest daughter in many ways. And Zohara realizes “like all Jews from Arab lands, she could never return to where she came from. With their Israeli passports, they were not even permitted to visit.”

Zohara also reconnects with her Mizrahi identity. She learns about how Yemeni women used songs to express themselves in a culture where women were illiterate and expected to be quiet. I’m so happy I discovered Ofra Haza and Gila Beshari.

In fact, I recommend listening to the Yemeni songs of these two women while reading this novel. Given current events in Israel and Gaza, this is a timely book which sheds light on the complex history of Israel. There is much to admire in this book: it’s well-written and interesting and very thought-provoking.

Songs for the Brokenhearted is a gentle, yet evocative debut novel that unfolds in two alternating narratives and timelines. The first is about young Saida and Yaqub, who fall in ill-fated love at an Israeli camp for Yemenite Jewish immigrants in 1950. The second is about Zohara Haddad, a graduate student in New York City who travels home to Israel in 1995 upon learning of her mother, Saida’s, death. As Zohara mourns, she unravels a secret life her mother led that is revealed through a collection of recorded songs on cassettes she discovers. While Zohara embarks on a quest to know more about her mother’s hidden past, she must confront her own identity crisis as an Israeli Jew who has repeatedly been othered in her greater Jewish communities.

Overall, I was impressed with how much I learned from this book. Historical fiction is at its best when readers learn about events never covered in school. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this arc.

CW: domestic violence, death of parent, kidnapped/missing child, Israel-Palestine conflict