Additional information
by Nicole Krauss (Author)
National Bestseller - A New York Times Notable Book
Named Best Book of the Year by Esquire, Times Literary Supplement, Elle Magazine, LitHub, Publishers Weekly, Financial Times, Guardian, Refinery29, PopSugar, and Globe and Mail
"A brilliant novel. I am full of admiration." --Philip Roth
"One of America's most important novelists" (New York Times), the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The History of Love, conjures an achingly beautiful and breathtakingly original novel about personal transformation that interweaves the stories of two disparate individuals--an older lawyer and a young novelist--whose transcendental search leads them to the same Israeli desert.
Jules Epstein, a man whose drive, avidity, and outsized personality have, for sixty-eight years, been a force to be reckoned with, is undergoing a metamorphosis. In the wake of his parents' deaths, his divorce from his wife of more than thirty years, and his retirement from the New York legal firm where he was a partner, he's felt an irresistible need to give away his possessions, alarming his children and perplexing the executor of his estate. With the last of his wealth, he travels to Israel, with a nebulous plan to do something to honor his parents. In Tel Aviv, he is sidetracked by a charismatic American rabbi planning a reunion for the descendants of King David who insists that Epstein is part of that storied dynastic line. He also meets the rabbi's beautiful daughter who convinces Epstein to become involved in her own project--a film about the life of David being shot in the desert--with life-changing consequences.
But Epstein isn't the only seeker embarking on a metaphysical journey that dissolves his sense of self, place, and history. Leaving her family in Brooklyn, a young, well-known novelist arrives at the Tel Aviv Hilton where she has stayed every year since birth. Troubled by writer's block and a failing marriage, she hopes that the hotel can unlock a dimension of reality--and her own perception of life--that has been closed off to her. But when she meets a retired literature professor who proposes a project she can't turn down, she's drawn into a mystery that alters her life in ways she could never have imagined.
Bursting with life and humor, Forest Dark is a profound, mesmerizing novel of metamorphosis and self-realization--of looking beyond all that is visible towards the infinite.
Front Jacket
Jules Epstein is undergoing a metamorphosis. In the wake of his parents' deaths, a divorce, and retirement from his law firm, he's felt an irresistible need to give away his possessions. With the last of his wealth he travels to Israel, with a nebulous plan to do something to honor his parents. In Tel Aviv, he is sidetracked by a charismatic American rabbi who is planning a reunion for the descendants of King David and insists that Epstein join. He also meets the rabbi's beautiful daughter who convinces Epstein to become involved in her own project.
On her own pilgrimage, a well-known young novelist arrives at the Tel Aviv Hilton, where she has stayed every year since birth. She's left her family for this trip, hoping that the hotel can cure her writer's block and unlock a dimension of reality that has been closed off to her. But when she meets a retired literature professor who proposes a project she can't refuse, she's drawn into a mystery that will profoundly change her.
Bursting with life and humor, Forest Dark is a mesmerizing novel of transformation and self-realization--of looking beyond all that is visible toward the infinite.
--Peter Orner, New York Times Book Review (cover feature)Back Jacket
Jules Epstein is undergoing a metamorphosis. In the wake of his parents' deaths, a divorce, and retirement from his law firm, he's felt an irresistible need to give away his possessions. With the last of his wealth he travels to Israel, with a nebulous plan to do something to honor his parents. In Tel Aviv, he is sidetracked by a charismatic American rabbi who is planning a reunion for the descendants of King David and insists that Epstein join. He also meets the rabbi's beautiful daughter who convinces Epstein to become involved in her own project.
On her own pilgrimage, a well-known young novelist arrives at the Tel Aviv Hilton, where she has stayed every year since birth. She's left her family for this trip, hoping that the hotel can cure her writer's block and unlock a dimension of reality that has been closed off to her. But when she meets a retired literature professor who proposes a project she can't refuse, she's drawn into a mystery that will profoundly change her.
Bursting with life and humor, Forest Dark is a mesmerizing novel of transformation and self-realization--of looking beyond all that is visible toward the infinite.
