Family secrets and scandal collide in Noa Yedlin's 'House Arrest' - review

Noa Yedlin's acclaimed Israeli novel 'House Arrest', originally published in Hebrew in 2013, has been released in English translation. The review praises the gripping narrative and Yedlin's distinctive prose style, focusing on the story of Elisheva Fogel, a respected Jerusalem resident accused of financial crimes, and her family's dynamics as seen through her son Barak's eyes.

Noa Yedlin's acclaimed Israeli novel 'House Arrest', originally published in Hebrew in 2013 as 'Ba'alat Habayit', has been released in English translation by New Vessel Press. The review, written by Abigail Klein Leichman, praises the novel's gripping narrative and Yedlin's distinctive prose style, which eschews traditional punctuation for a manic, dense flow of thoughts. The plot centers on Elisheva Fogel, a respected resident of Jerusalem's Rehavia neighborhood, who is accused of accepting bribes, laundering money, and falsifying documents in her role as vice-chair of the Hirsch Center for Peace. The story is told from the perspective of her middle child, Barak, who struggles with his family's dynamics and his own doubts about his mother's innocence. The review highlights the novel's satirical social commentary on coexistence NGOs and family relationships, noting that Yedlin keeps the reader guessing about Elisheva's guilt until the last page. Yedlin won the 2013 Sapir Prize and the 2021 Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works.