Havurah Shalom

Three Floors Up by Eshkol Nevo

An Israeli bestseller, this book is set in a Tel Aviv apartment building. A resident on each floor tells a story in 1st person narrative.

Arnon is a tormented, retired military officer who fought the First Intifada. Conditioned to kill or be killed, he continues to make things worse for himself as he obsesses about his daughter’s safety.

Hani, whose husband’s lucrative job keeps him traveling while she cares for their two children at home, brings emotional excitement into her life by risking hiding her brother-in-law from the police.

Devora, a retired former judge, joins a social movement, tries to reconnect with her estranged son, and falls in love with a man who isn't what he seems. The apartment building is a metaphor/microcosm of community in Israel, where individual backgrounds are often diverse, the sense of paranoia, the fear of neighbors being ready to inform on you, is tacit in each of these stories. Nevo is a well-recognized writer in Israel.

Discussion led by Sandy Bacharach.