It's Autumn 1940. The Nazis seal 400,000 Jews inside
a small area of the Polish capital, creating an urban
island cut off from the outside world. Erik Cohen, an
elderly psychiatrist, is forced to move into a tiny
apartment with his niece and his beloved nine-year-old
nephew, Adam. One bitterly cold winter's day, Adam goes
missing. The next morning, his body is discovered in the
barbed wire surrounding the ghetto. The boy's leg has
been cut off, and a tiny piece of string has been left
in his mouth. Soon, another body turns up - this time a
girl's, and one of her hands has been taken. Evidence
begins to point to a Jewish traitor luring children to
their death...In this profoundly moving and darkly
atmospheric historical thriller, the reader is taken
into the most forbidden corners of Nazi-occupied Warsaw
- as well as into the most heroic places of the heart.
Praise for Richard Zimler: 'A riveting literary murder
mystery, [The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon] is also a
harrowing picture of the persecution of 16th-century
Jews and, in passing, an atmospheric introduction to the
hermetic Jewish tradition of the Kabbalah' -
''Independent on Sunday''.'Zimler [is] a present-day
scholar and writer of remarkable erudition and
compelling imagination, an American Umberto Eco' -
''Spectator''. 'Zimler has this spark of genius, which
critics can't explain but readers recognise, and which
every novelist desires but few achieve' -
''Independent''. 'Zimler is an honest, powerful writer'
- ''Guardian''. |
|