The Parting Gift

An unnamed narrator writes a letter to an old college friend, Adam, with whom he has been staying since his abrupt return to the states. Now that the narrator is moving on to a new location, he finally reveals the events that led him to Adam’s door, set in motion by a chance encounter with Uzi, an Israeli spice merchant whose wares had developed a cult following.

From their first meeting, the narrator is overwhelmed by an animal attraction that leads him to derail his life, withdrawing from friends and prolonging his stay in a small town north of Tel Aviv. As he becomes increasingly entangled in Uzi’s life—and by extension the lives of Uzi’s ex-wife and children—his jealous affection takes on a sinister aspect, which will ultimately threaten the wellbeing of all around him.

With its devious style that keeps you guessing until the end, The Parting Gift is an engrossing page-turner and a shrewd exploration of the roles men assume or are forced to take on as lovers, as fathers, as Israelis, as Palestinians.