The Justice

Best-selling Israeli author Meir Shalev talked about the meaning of his newest book, A Pigeon and a Boy, as well as his personal inspiration behind the book's two loves stories, at last Wednesday's Meet the Author event in the Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose room.

Professor Ilan Troen (NEJS), director of the new Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, which co-sponsored the event along with the Hebrew and Arabic Languages program, opened by congratulating Shalev on winning the title of most popular author in Israel in a recent poll conducted by Ynet, a popular Israeli news search engine, in which 10,000 people participated.

The first love story in Shalev's book is about Yair Mendelson, a tour guide who is an expert on migrating birds. Mendelson's mother gives him money to build a new house, and he has a love affair with his female contractor. The story ends with the completion of the house.

The other story is about two young lovers who use pigeons to communicate with each other. Eventually, the man goes off to war and brings pigeons with him, using his final drops of life to send a letter to his girlfriend with his last pigeon.

"The content of this letter is the secret of my novel," Shalev said. He wouldn't reveal his "secret," but told those who read it, "Yes, it is possible."

Shalev spent most of the lecture discussing the meaning of his book. "It is not a war novel, it is a love story that takes place in a time of war," he said.

Shalev went into great detail about the role of pigeons in his book, saying "we have to compliment the English language for calling it a homing pigeon and not a post pigeon," which is the name for it in Israel. He said that the English name shows proper respect for the bird.

Shalev also refuted the widely held belief that the homing pigeons in his book symbolize peace, emphasizing that this book is not a political novel.

"Many people think that books that come from Israel have to do with politics. … We also write in Israel more about the classical things: of literature, of love, of family relationships. … I think that this book is one of them," Shalev said in an interview with the Justice after the speech.

Shalev, however, did discuss the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, saying: "Two people have to give up something and to make a kind of compromise. … Israel has to give up the occupations of 1965; … Palestine has to give up the decision of 1948."

Continued...

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