“The Others” by Sarah Blau
The Others by Sarah Blau is a really bizarre and very well-written thriller except that Sarah, my daughter, will not let me read it. She knocks it out of my hand!!! It upturns the mushiness about motherhood that seems to have erupted in world literature and created a really sinister story.
Since my child won’t let me read it, here is what the blurb says:
A serial killer is on the loose in Tel Aviv. Each victim is found tier to a chair with a baby doll glued to their hands, the word ‘mother’s carved into their foreheads like a mark of Cain. Stowed away between the wax figurines of the Bible museum where she works, Sheila Heller suspects that she alone knows the connection between the victims. The killings seem to be linked by a pact their group all made at university– to never have children. What Sheila doesn’t know is who is committing these gruesome acts of ritualistic violence, and whether she herself might be the next target.
#PushkinVertigo is the new thriller imprint launched by #PushkinPress. It is an incredible list. The few texts that I have read on this list show it to be very sharply written, there is a crispness with not a word out of place and the action moves very fast. It has that Cold War-spy novel-like detailing in introducing the reader to varied landscapes but it is never overdone. In that it is sufficiently modern in its storytelling. The imprint is a mix of #crimebooks written originally in English and in translation with the focus being on outstanding thrillers. The editors are not averse at publishing debut writers or bestsellers or even reissuing out-of-print titles. It is a fine balance between the old and the new curated by editors who obviously love this genre. Some of the prominent titles on this list include, “#TheHonjinMurders” by #SeishiYokomizo and “Three-Fifths” by #JohnVerger. ( https://pushkinpress.com/all-books/pushkin-vertigo/ )
The Others was a bestseller in Hebrew. It is Sarah Blau’s fourth novel but her first to be translated into English. It has been brilliantly translated into English by Daniella Zamir, who also translated #DovAlfon‘s fabulous A Long Night in Paris.
For those who enjoy reading crime fiction, Pushkin Vertigo is an imprint that they must regularly check out.
31 May 2021
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