Chana Tova Barbara

Chana tova means happy new year in Hebrew. It's the traditional wish on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, and marks the beginning of this story. From one Rosh Hashana to the next, through a year of Jewish tradition and holidays this story will not be an average year in the Mandel family because Barbara, the elder sister, has mysteriously drifted away from family and religion. This is the story of that crazy year, and also the many different ways we measure time in our lives. Past time and present, sacred time and time spent away from religious practice. Time zones within time zones, all the protagonists must deal with these various influences, for better, or sometimes, for worse. We follow the Mandels through their daily adventure, punctuated by Jewish holidays and rituals, structured by the sacred texts. Like Greek tragedy, the voice of the gods will be heard, but where tragedy condemns men to a prewritten destiny, this touching antitragedy, reveals the tiny fraction of precious freedom that is ours.

Karine Naccache (Auteur) - Verschenen op 07/01/2009 bij Lattes