The single tree bent by the wind on an arid field is the perfect cover for Assaf Gavron’s 2013 novel, published here in 2014 with Steven Cohen’s English 
translation. On the face of it, brothers Gabi and Roni Kupper are the main characters. On every page Israel’s land, politics, and people – Jewish and Palestinian, settlers and kibbutzniks, religious and secular – share equal billing.
After several years with little contact, Roni arrives at Gabi’s dilapidated trailer in a tiny West Bank settlement having escaped his fast track New York life wearing a Hugo Boss suit, with empty pockets and no plan. Roni barely recognizes his brother, Gabi, who has crafted a new life as a religious ascetic and changed his name. A follower of the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Gabi organizes his life around daily prayers and learning, and turning a small shed on the edge of the settlement into a home. Seemingly gone are the traumas that shaped his life as a child and young adult.
Mixing flashbacks and the present day, Gavron presents two different worlds: daily life in Ma’aleh Hermesh C and the difficult childhood that helped bring Gabi and Roni there. Continue reading Book Review: Assaf Gavron paints a big picture from The Hilltop
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