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Host Marcela Sulak reads from the opening of Orly Castel-Bloom’s short story, “Heathcliff,” in which a young girl’s crush on the literary figure, Heathcliff, follows her about the city of Tel Aviv. In Castel-Bloom’s signature narrative style, it is difficult to tell reality from imagination, and the results are menacing.

“Smadar trailed along Ibn Gvirol Street. The taste of the cigarette was bitter. She looked around to make sure that nobody could see her and spat a big gob onto the pavement. When she raised her eyes, she turned red. Two eyes were watching her. They were Heathcliff’s eyes. Green, slightly slanting and focused on her…“

Castel-Bloom was born in Tel Aviv in 1960 to parents originally from Egypt. A leading voice in Hebrew literature, she currently teaches creative writing at Tel Aviv University. Her post-modern classic, Dolly City, has been included in UNESCO’s Collection of Representative Works, and was nominated in 2007 as one of the ten most important books since the creation of the State of Israel.

Text:
Orly Castel-Bloom, “Heathcliff,” translated by Dalya Bilu, 50 Stories from Israel: An Anthology. Ed. Zisi Stavi.

Further reading:
Orly Castel-Bloom, Dolly City, translated by Dalya Bilu. Dalkey Archive 2010.

Music:
REO – Bemakom Acher
Desire – Under Your Spell
Emily Karpel – Hey!

Producer: Laragh Widdess
Technical producer: Alex Benish