Souls

A novel

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Grisha’s life story spans over four hundred years. He was born in a 17th century Jewish Shtetl and ever since then he has been living and dying, jumping from body to body, from one century to another. Constantly being reborn. But what is the driving force of these endless reincarnations? Is it atonement for an ancient sin, unfulfilled love, or simply pure coincidence?

Sounds like total bullshit, right? Well his mother thinks so too! She forces herself into the story with an overwhelming urge to mediate Grisha’s so-called memories, converting them into (what she considers) his real biography. There is only one Life, she says, everything else is a metaphor.

I'm four hundred years old- Grisha says, and his mom corrects: You're forty, but you act like a four-year-old. He insists, I spent my youth in Venice, she says: We had water running in the hallway, because of the goddamn sewage pipes. He shouts: I was a woman in Morocco, she screams: Give me back my dress, you pervert! He cries, I died over and over again! She mutters: Me too, all because of you.

The two protagonists of Souls are in constant merciless battle over the reader’s heart. Who will prevail? Soul or body, fantasy or reality, the son, the mother or the Holy Spirit? Is life ultimately a gift or punishment? And who is the soul-mate Grisha is looking for over centuries?

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Thanks to an extensive research, Souls opens a window to fascinating chapters in Jewish history. From the birth of the Jewish theater in the 17th century, through the cultural wealth of the Jewish ghetto in 18th century Venice, everyday life of a Jewish woman in 19th century Morocco, to the recent story of former Soviet Union immigration to Israel in the 20th century.

Souls is a genuinely fresh and original novel. Sophisticated, funny and heartbreaking. It moves effortlessly between genres and periods of history, yet stays deeply inspired by the Jewish roots of its author, who aspires to see himself as a citizen of the world, and sometimes even succeeds.

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Souls was translated into Italian and Russian.