cover image Sea of Stones

Sea of Stones

Florence Cohen. Pushcart Press, $25 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-916366-88-9

This profoundly moving first novel works at every level: as a love story, a modern-day morality play and a view of a controversial slice of history. Freya Gould, 41, divorced and living comfortably in suburban Chicago, cares for her recently widowed father, a feisty union organizer who raised her on a steady diet of Communist rhetoric. Her 19-year-old son Noah is living on a kibbutz in Israel. Freya is appalled to learn that Noah has forged documents to join the Israeli army as a photographer in time to be a part of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Determined to get Noah to safety, Freya flies to Israel and phones Asher Frank, her American lover of 20 years earlier who is now a general in Israeli intelligence. She sets into motion a process that is an Israeli way of life: protexia , influence. Freya uses Asher to reach Noah; in turn, she is manipulated by an Arab friend seeking information; a Canadian woman journalist exploits her for her own ends. A constant, provocative dialogue ensues: why is Israel in Lebanon? Who is really responsible for the killing? The book is rich in atmosphere, from vital, bustling Jerusalem to the ``human meltdown'' that is the Sabra refugee camp in Lebanon. Stark and outspoken, this novel won Pushcart's 12th annual Editors' Book Award. (Jan.)