Thank you NetGalley, the publisher as well as the author Raphael Jerusalmy. This was an okay book. When I read books of dangerous situation, I always put myself in the book and say..man..why do people stick around to see their demise..RUN!!

Read the book, that is not a spoiler. That is my thought. Thank you again!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to be able to read this, unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to download this title. I do appreciate the opportunity given to me and I look forward in the future to be able to review another book.
Thank you once again.

This novella really captured a lot in a shorter story. This was a compelling and sometimes difficult read about what a challenging choice it would be to choose to stay versus leave when your country is under attack. So powerful.
#Evacuation #NetGalley #TextPublishing #TextPublishingCompany

Powerful, evocative, and compelling, very short tale of life in tel avid and an attempted evacuation. Possibly a Little lost in translation.

Living in Tel Aviv has its advantages and disadvantages. Tel Aviv is a beautiful beachside city with a thriving nightlife. Tel Aviv is sometimes in the middle of a war zone. When Naor, a film student, is forced to evacuate during a firestorm, his grandfather Saba gets off the bus and refuses to go. So Naor and his girlfriend Yaël follow and become fugitives as they hide out from the missile strikes.

As time passes, the three are forced to make do with what they can as the city is shut down. Naor begins filming the evacuation and Tel Aviv as it sits mostly empty. There are still nearby missile strikes, and they have no power or water, but the choice they’ve made allows them to experience life as they haven’t before. It is an introspective time for them. Perhaps staying in the city wasn’t such a bad thing after all, until something tragic occurs.

This novel was translated from the original French publication. At first I had a hard time following the story, as it is Naor’s narration to his mother on a car ride to her kibbutz. Once I continued through the story, I got into the rhythm and the tale. For those of us in the US, it is so hard to imagine living in a war zone such as Israel. The story of Saba, Naor and Yaël hiding out in the city is a good one. I did enjoy it.

3.5 stars


This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 17 November 2019 .

The first thought that came to mind when I started reading Evacuation by Raphael Jerusalmy was that it was incredibly random. Who is the main character talking to? What and who is he talking about? Where and when does the story take place? It was quite confusing.

As the story continued I started figuring out more and more of the information. The main character, Naor, is travelling back to Tel Aviv with his mother and along the way he is telling her the story of the city’s evacuation (in 2010) and his decision to stay there with his girlfriend and grandfather. He explains what their life looked like then and talks about the movie they shot while waiting out the war. I did really have to do some background research to fully comprehend the story, which was disappointing.

In the end, this book really wasn’t my cup of tea. The writing style, and the set-up were just not something I enjoyed reading very much. I did find it very interesting to learn more about the situation. It’s a part of history that is very recent, but I still barely know anything about it.

I struggled with this book, as I found the writing style difficult to appreciate. The basis of the story is interesting and that is what initially grabbed my attention, but unfortunately the writing let it down for me.

Really gripping and very different novel. This powerful and compelling short novel makes for some chilling reading.

This powerful and compelling short novel makes for some chilling reading. The narrator, Naor, is on a car journey with his mother from her kibbutz to a destination in Tel Aviv that only gradually becomes clear. While they drive, Naor recounts the time he spent in Tel Aviv with his girlfriend and grandfather during a mandatory evacuation of the city during a missile attack. The trio had been ready to evacuate as ordered, then something happens that means they remain behind. No specific details are given about the attack – there is later a mention of peace negotiations in Geneva – but this lack of specificity gives the story a timeless feel, especially considering the ongoing conflicts in Israel. The three learn to survive as best they can whilst the missiles fall around them. The danger and tension are vividly portrayed, although always in a calm and measured prose that somehow adds to the suspense. The author once worked in Israeli military intelligence and this no doubt adds to the authentic descriptions of the events described throughout the book. It’s a moving and absorbing read, and I very much enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed. It had an interesting plot. I would be interested in reading more

A quick slightly quirky view of Jerusalmys Israel. Definitely worth the read of just for the beautiful descriptions. This book was graciously provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this short little book. In fact, it is so engaging and engrossing that I want to read it all over again right away!

In "Evacuation," filmmaker Naor, his artist girlfriend Yael, and his writer grandfather Saba survive alone in Tel Aviv during a mandatory evacuation after a missile attack. As the story unfolds, the trio explore their beloved city and grow closer together. Readers relive the experience as Naor replays the event to his mother.

As I read, I imagined what I would do in the same situation and how I would feel. I was surprised at the emotions I felt, a sign of a good book.

A powerful novella a book about choice about staying in your home in Tel Aviv instead of evacuating instead of fleeing for their lives..Awell written interesting literary novella. #netgallley text publishing,

I know what this book is about, but did not understand the way it was written, I found it very disjointed. Not my type of but.

A powerful novella about 3 people, a young man, woman and his grandfather, who remain in TelAviv during an evacuation. The story is told through updates and. conversations with our narrator's mother. We see the story unfold and learn the motivation to stay behind and the subsequent consequences. Very different style and flow but I found it interesting and thoughtful.

3.5/5 Stars

What an odd book. I don't mean that in a bad way, but it's just different from the types of books I'm used to reading. James Joyce and his stream of consciousness writing style are referenced several times in this little novella, and they're apt references since Jerusalmy's writing style in Evacuation reminds me so much of Joyce's. The entire novella is Naor, our narrator, telling his mom what happened in the days he, his girlfriend Yael, and his grandfather got stuck in an evacuated Tel Aviv during a war in Israel. It doesn't sound very funny when reading the description, but it's actually pretty funny in the most unexpected way. Jerusalmy does a good job with keeping a balance between the dark humor and the real tragedies that occur throughout the novella.

My biggest thing, though, is how important Yael is, but she's not given very much of anything to do. It's clear she's important to Naor, but she doesn't have much personality beyond that. She likes art, and she likes interacting with Naor's grandfather. That's about it, which is unfortunate since she's probably one of the most important characters in the whole novella. Maybe her lack of character is something Jerusalmy chose on purpose to show that Yael is more of a symbol than an actual representation of a person? I don't know. I just wish that for the significance she holds not only in the novella but in the narrator's heart, she had been given something more than what we the readers got.

Overall, it's an interesting, quick read, and I'd definitely recommend it. I have a feeling I'll need to reread it a time or two as well in order to really absorb everything since it's just so odd. But odd in a good way!