Judith Katzir

This was an interesting novel about a young woman who has an affair with her literature teacher. The story is set in 1970s Carmel and various political and social issues In Israel crop up during the story. It is first person and includes the young girl's diaries where she fancied herself writing to Anne Frank - the ultimate diary keep for young Jewish girls of which I was one - as Kitty, the name Frank gave her diary.

The book was controversial in Israel, getting attacked by gay and lesbian critics because of the character of the older, perhaps 'predatory' lesbian and from conservatives because of the use of AF metaphor in a novel about a same-sex relationship. Can't quite get on board with either view - although I do think the ending is a little heavy handed.

The novel is almost a traditional bildingsroman or story of an artist as a young person. The way Rivi overlaps with Frank - the budding sexuality, the tension - was most interesting and in some ways, made Frank's death all the sadder . After all, who knows who Anne would have been had she been allowed to reach adulthood.… (mehr)