I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley.
Zohara's mother has passed away and she leaves Thailand where she is hiding from the aftermath of a quick divorce to be with her family in Israel. This book goes into some of the historical issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict and shows part of the reasons why it's so difficult to achieve peace in that region. Zohara and her sister Lizzie (10 years older) have a difficult relationship. They find out more about their mother while cleaning out her house while the reader finds out more during this duo timeline story about a man their mother loved while she was in a loveless marriage. Lots going on in this book, but the author did an excellent job of keeping it interesting with the cast of characters. One line in the book really hit me hard with my sister passing away 4 years ago. We aren't supposed to post excerpts from ARCs so I won't put it here. Just know that the author must've lost someone close to them to be able to write such a heart-crushing line of sorrow. A worthwhile read.

Oh, how beautifully written this story was! At times, I had tears in my eyes. A very compelling tale of a daughter who moves from NYC once she found out the news of her mothers passing. Story takes place both in 1950 & 1995. I loved it. Hope to see more from Ayelet Tsabari.

Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC. Interesting story about Jewish families in Yemen, a subject I knew little about. Zahora returns to her homeland for her mother's funeral and starts realizing things about her mother's and her families history.

“Songs For The Brokenhearted” is filled with human emotion, and compassion. It’s historical, brilliant, intelligent, witty, warm, appetizing & scrumptious, passionate, psychologically astute, with stimulating bewitching characters…..
…..and a ‘very’ personal novel to me.
I was gushing crying at one part. My body was aching with sadness, love, and hope…..
…..a floodgate opened inside me. I couldn’t stop the racing thoughts and feelings.
My own memories came flooding back of the year I lived in Israel before during and after the Yom Kippur War in 1973. My ten days in a bomb shelter ….my kibbutz experience….my Haifa University experience….my visits to Jerusalem, the Old City, the Western Wall, the Marketplace, the Holocaust Remembrance Center, Tel Aviv, the Golan Heights, Tiberias, Eilat, The Dead Sea, walking the caves, hiking the Massada, …..my visits with my uncle who taught at the University of Jerusalem, (now deceased), with thoughts of my cousins who are still living in Israel now, and the ongoing horrors between the Israel-Hamas war.

Having absolutely loved two other books by Ayelet Tsabari . . .
[The Art of Leaving”, and “The Best Place On Earth”]….
and now loving “Songs For The Brokenhearted” ….. I will jump to read anything by this magnificent author.

Since 1948, 51,000 Jews emigrated to Israel from Yemen.
Our story is told in duo timelines.
It begins in 1950, where we meet Yaqub and Saida at the immigration camp, Mahane Olim Rosh HaAyin

“Saida and Yaqub both came from Haidan in North Yemen. Both were orphans. Both were young. He was just a boy. She was just a girl. They met at an all-Yemeni immigrant camp in Rosh HaAyin, once a British Air Force base, and now a large tent city. It was a new city built of hope, despair, dreams, and catastrophe of others, on an ancient land”.
Other camps like theirs were being built to accommodate Jewish immigrants… Hundreds and thousands from Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Iraq, Iran, Morocco.
Saida (with the gorgeous singing voice), and Yaqub, (a passionate writer and lover of books), meet and fall in love.

“Saida missed her home in the village in North Yemen, the fresh mountain air, the earthy incense that perfumed their mud houses, strong basil, and lemony shadhab; how it was always spring there, never this cold, never this damp. Maybe her Muslim friends were right, and this was a terrible idea.
And Yaqub had said, ‘Don’t say that. This is the place for us. This is the promised land we dreamt about. It will get better. You’ll see’”.

Note…the filth, poverty, and hunger at this camp was inhumane…

The other timeline advances is to 1995.
We meet Zohara Haddad, daughter of Saida.
Zohara was living in New York, working on her doctorate at NYU.
Her sister from Israel, Lizzie, called Zohara to tell her their mother has died and she needs to come home.
The last time Zohara returned home to Israel she was still married — to Zack.

The storytelling in each of timelines are equally compelling … each with sweetness….but also each with wounds.
We learn intricate details about each the characters, the family, history, cultural and religious configurations, political strife, and secrets that had been withheld for years.

There is talk about war - the Israel- Palestine conflict. There are demonstrations,, protest, arrests, and an assassination.
There are political-divide issues. Relationship issues.
Sisters Zohara and Lizzie (10 years apart in age), have struggled with their relationship most of their lives.

There are wonderful delicious moments….laughter …. and love.

Note….
I started getting a nostalgic for the Jewish holidays….
and hungry from all the mentions of foods….
….chicken with potatoes, Moroccan fish with cilantro and carrots, yummy rice….
Ha….I also wanted a schnitzel…..a joint…..and a rest on a hammock….
I wouldn’t mind a couple of those Ka’adid cookies either

Another Note…..thanks to Ayelet Tsabari …..I’ve added to more authors to read sooner - than later: (I’ve known of them)…..but haven’t read their book: Eli Amir and Roman Gary.
Ayelet mentioned author David Grossman (I’m already a huge fan and reads everything he writes).

Forgive this long review ….
Geee — I still have more I wish to say - discuss with other readers….
Its richness is significant.
Ayelet transcends time in the living experience….so much humanity.

In between chapters we are treated to some lovely poetry….
Here is one of them:
…..”If I were yours
And you were mine
If I were a raincloud
I’d quench your thirst.
If I were a bird with a
curly wing
I’d shelter you from
the hot sun
If I were grapes
strung on a vine
I’d squeeze the flesh
of my fruit
and pour juice into
your mouth
UNKNOWN YEMENI
POETESS

The beauty and emotional integrity in this novel strikes me to the core.

Ayelet Tsabari has such a beautiful writing style. I love the dueling timelines and Tsabari does it in a way that lets both timelines play off of one another while also being their own distinct story. Seeing how the times and how cultures have shifted throughout the years helped to shape the story and these characters in a way will move the reader throughout the story in an impactful way. This was a beautifully written story and has made Tsabari an author I want to see more from.

A compelling dual timeline tale of a Yemeni Jewish family who moves to the new state of Israel, and the contrasting world of the daughter, who lives in NYC in 1985, until she learns of her mother's death, then moves home to be with family. Poignant and heartbreaking.

Beautifully written and heartbreaking story that takes place in both 1950 and 1995. About a daughter who finds out her mother has passed. This book dives into the family’s story in an incredible, heartfelt way.