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David Grossman began writing his novel To The End Of The Land during his oldest son’s military service. It’s about an Israeli mother whose son has just been released from his compulsory military service, only to be called back for a major offensive the next day. Host Marcela Sulak reads us an excerpt.

A year after Grossman’s oldest son Yonatan’s release, his second son, Uri, began his service. On August 12, 2006, in the final hours of the Second Lebanon War, Uri was killed in Southern Lebanon. His tank was hit by a rocket while trying to rescue soldiers from another tank. Grossman says:

“After we finished sitting shiva, I went back to the book. Most of it was already written. What changed, above all, was the echo of the reality in which the final draft was written.”

David Grossman was born in Jerusalem and is known for his peace activism. His ten novels and four collections of non-fiction have been translated into 30 languages, and he’s won nearly every major literary award in Israel. Films were made of three of his novels, and in the podcast we hear music from the soundtrack to Someone to Run With, directed by Asaf Livni.

Text:
David Grossman, To The End Of The Land, translated by Jessica Cohen, 2010.

Music:
Daniel Salomon and Dana Adini – In Many Ways
Daniel Salomon – Someone To Run with

Producer: Laragh Widdess
Technical producer: Alex Benish