The acclaimed and prolific Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld passed away last week at the age of 85, leaving behind 47 published works. This episode honors his legacy with excerpts from his memoir, entitled The Story of a Life.
Here is an excerpt from the memoir:
After the Sabbath meal, we take a stroll to the stream. Grandfather and Grandmother walk ahead, and we follow behind them. At night this branch of the river looks wider. The darkness sinks, and white skies open above us, flowing slowly. I stretch out my hands and feel the white flow coming straight into my palms.
“Mother,” I say.
“What is it, my love?”
The words that I had sought to describe the sensation have slipped away from me.
Since I don’t have words I sit there, open my eyes wide, and let the white night flow into me.
Text:
“Story of a Life” by Aharon Appelfeld. Translated by Alona Halter, 2004 (Penguin Edition, 2006)
Music:
Little Bird (Instrumental) by Imogen Heap
