LITERATURE + LECTURES

The Center for Jewish Living and Learning at the Jewish Community Center of Houston presents An Evening with Author David Grossman.  One of Israel’s most acclaimed writers, talks about his recently released book To the End of the Land on Monday, October 18, at 8:00 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, 5601 S. Braeswood.

Grossman (pictured)  returns to Houston for the first time in 20 years to speak about his book, which has been described as a novel of extraordinary power about family life - the greatest human drama - and the cost of war.

Ora, a middle-aged Israeli mother, is on the verge of celebrating her son Ofer’s release from army service when he returns to the front for a major offensive. In a fit of preemptive grief and magical thinking, she sets out for a hike in Galilee, leaving no forwarding information for the “notifiers” who might darken her door with the worst possible news. She is recently estranged from her husband and drags along an unlikely companion on her journey; their former best friend and her former lover.

“Very rarely, a few times in a lifetime, you open a book and when you close it again nothing can ever be the same,” said author, Nicole Krauss.

Amazon.com has declared To the End of the Land as “Best of the Month September 2010.”

The September 23 edition of the New York Times Sunday Book Review, Colm Toibin wrote, “It is a testament to Grossman’s novelistic talent, indeed perhaps his genius, that ‘To the End of the Land’ manages to create and dramatize a world that gives both the reality and the echo their full due. He weaves the essences of private life into the tapestry of history with deliberate and delicate skill. He has created a panorama of breathtaking emotional force, a masterpiece of pacing, of dedicated storytelling, with characters whose lives are etched with extraordinary, vivid detail.”

David Grossman was born in Jerusalem. He is the author of numerous works of fiction, nonfiction and children’s literature. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and has been translated into thirty languages around the world. He is the recipient of many prizes, including the French Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the Buxtehuder Bulle in Germany, Rome’s Premio per la Pace e l’Azione Umitaria, the Premio Ischia— International Award for Journalism, Israel’s Emet Prize, and the Albatross Prize given by the Günter Grass Foundation.

Following a brief talk by Grossman, Rich Levy, Executive Director of Inprint, will conduct an on-stage interview with the author. The evening concludes with a book sale and signing where audience members can meet the author.

Tickets for the event are available at www.jcchouston.org  or by calling 713-551-7255. The evening is expected to be a sell out so advanced ticket purchase is encouraged.

This program was made possible, in part, by funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, the United Way and Continental Airlines.

The Jewish Community Center has founded the Center for Jewish Learning and Living, a collaborative process that brings together the arts and culture programming of the Center, such as the Book and Arts Fair, the Jewish Film Festival, and the Jewish Music Festival, and the education initiatives of the Center, such as the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, and the Bunny and Leo Horvitz Scholar-in-Residence Program. In addition, this collaboration brings additional programs and staff to the Jewish initiatives of the JCC, with high hopes that more members of our community may be touched by meaningful Jewish experiences.