The only daughter, side notes
By Gadi Luzzatto Voghera*
Reading The only daughter (Einaudi 2021), the last present that Abraham B. Yehoshua gave us, can't leave us indifferent. This short story was immediately translated into Italian by the talented Alessandra Shomroni. It couldn't be otherwise, given that the main theme seems to be the Italian Jews' identity during the second post-war period. It has been said and written that this is an affectionate homage to our country from the great Israeli writer, and it is probably true. I am not a literary critic, so I will not do an analysis of the text nor I will place it within the rich production of Yehoshua.
The topics addressed in the story are many, from the only child status (in the title), to the illness of a loved one, to a consideration on social disparity and family dynamics (in Yehoshua's writing, the continuous reference, through many quotes, to the book "Cuore" by Edmondo De Amicis).
Not being an expert, I do not intend to and will not delve into these subjects. However, I must intervene with regard to a passage that - even though it is part of the narrative fiction - risks providing incorrect historical information to the Italian readers. I am talking about the brief excerpt of few pages where is described the paradoxical meeting between the Jewish lawyer, protagonist of the book, and the old doctor from the Italian region of Alto Adige, who is said to have delivered him on Christmas Eve in 1943, hiding him and his mother in a mountain village throughout the entire war.
* Director of CDEC Foundation
The novel The only daughter by A.B. Yehoshua elicited many reactions among our contributors. Here the columns by Anna Segre and Alberto Cavaglion.
Translation by Alice Pugliese, revised by Gianluca Pace, students at the Secondary School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.
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ITALICS
"La Fille unique" privée de crèche
Par Virginie Bloch-Lainé*
Quand une affaire juridique est délicate au point de représenter un danger pour l’ordre public, il arrive qu’on la dépayse pour la juger. C’est un peu ce que fait l’Israélien Avraham B. Yehoshua dans ce beau roman, la Fille unique, qui se déroule dans le Nord de l’Italie. Ce grand écrivain né en 1936 à Jérusalem milite pour la création, en Israël, d’un Etat binational. Dans la Fille unique, il ne s’agit pas directement d’un procès, et personne ici ne tranche rien à la manière d’un juge. En revanche le livre est une caisse de résonance de conflits identitaires dont le cœur est le Proche-Orient. Un peu de distance ne fait pas de mal. L’histoire se passe de nos jours, même si elle est nimbée d’un flou propre aux contes. Un jour, l’héroïne est habillée à la façon du Petit Chaperon rouge. Elle n’est pas initiée à la dangerosité du monde, mais à sa diversité et à l’impermanence des choses.
La Fille unique est le portrait, à un moment précis, d’une famille juive ashkénaze et aisée. Tout le monde n’est pas juif dans cette famille, il y a eu des mélanges.
*Cet article a été originellement publié sur Libération le 5 juin 2022.
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