In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist

July 22, 2013
The unlikely friendship of an intellectual New York Jew and a working-class Jerusalem Arab drives Feuerman’s evocative second novel, following Seven Blessings. This friendship is all the more unlikely because it occurs in the divided city of Jerusalem, to which Isaac Markowitz moves in 1999, at age 40, after his beloved mother’s death. The city itself emerges as a character: its climate and topography are depicted with a lyricism that contrasts with the area’s political tension. Isaac meets the humble, optimistic Mustafa, whose job as a janitor on the Temple Mount earns him the former’s highest respect. Their friendship is forged in mostly short chapters that alternate between the two characters in point of view. Isaac’s story unfolds as a belated coming-of-age tale in which he finds a new life for himself, as well as a romantic partner to share it with in the young and beautiful Tamar. At one point, Isaac sits under an olive tree, staring at pink clouds as cool night air brushes against his neck, and reminisces about his past before he moved to Israel—a moment that encapsulates the novel’s quiet, lovely mood. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Liza Dawson Associates.