Four Mothers - Tapa dura

Shifra Horn's beautifully imagined novel tells the story of five generations of women in one family against the background of 100 years in Jerusalem.The story begins with Amal, the last generation, who is despondent over her husband's desertion after her son's birth. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother are overjoyed, because the birth of a healthy boy means that their family's curse has been broken: There is no daughter to inherit it. "Come, listen", they say to Amal, "listen to the story of the curse that foreshadowed every father's disappearance. Be comforted by your 'four mothers'".Mazal, the orphan, whose ill-fated marriage initiates the curse; her daughter Sara, whose golden hair becomes a symbol for her power to heal; Sara's daughter Pnina-Mazal, the unwanted child whose talent for knowing others' thoughts brings her joy and sorrow; and her daughter Geula, Amal's mother, whose sharp intellect and idealism are her gift and her burden.Epic in scope, mysterious, rich in magical realism and folklore -- Four Mothers is a masterpiece of storytelling.