{"product_id":"the-best-place-on-earth-stories","title":"The Best Place on Earth: Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eReminiscent of the early work of Jhumpa Lahiri  Ayelet Tsabaris award-winning debut collection of stories is global in scope yet intimate in feel  beautifully written  and emotionally powerful. From Israel to India to Canada  Tsabaris indelible characters grapple with love  violence  faith  the slipperiness of identity  and the challenges of balancing old traditions with modern times.  These eleven spellbinding stories often focus on Israels Mizrahi Jews  featuring mothers and children  soldiers and bohemians  lovers and best friends  all searching for their place in the world. In Tikkun  a man crosses paths with his free-spirited ex-girlfriendnow a married Orthodox Jewand minutes later barely escapes tragedy. In Brit Milah  a mother travels from Israel to visit her daughter in Canada and is stunned by her grandsons upbringing. A young medic in the Israeli army bends the rules to potentially dangerous consequence in Casualties. After her mom passes away  a teenage girl comes to live with her aunt outside Tel Aviv and has her first experience with unrequited love in Say It Again  Say Something Else. And in the moving title story  two estranged sistersone whose marriage is ending  the other whose relationship is just beginningtry to recapture the close bond they had as kids.  Absorbing  tender  and sharply observed  The Best Place on Earth infuses moments of sorrow with small moments of grace: a boy composes poetry in a bomb shelter  an old photo helps a girl make sense of her mothers rootless past. Tsabaris voice is gentle yet wise  illuminating the burdens of history  the strength of the heart  and our universal desire to belong.  Praise for The Best Place on Earth  Its impossible not to be awestruck by the depth and power rendered in Tsabaris stories.Elle  Tsabari creates complex  conflicted  prickly people youll want to get to know better.Kirkus Reviews (starred review)  Theres remarkable scope in Ayelet Tsabaris The Best Place on Earth  which interweaves stories of discrimination  loss  displacement  sex  death  religion  and a host of other issues. And yet  despite the range of viewpoints and the different facets of Israeli society explored  this is a collection that always stays intensely personal  the broader forces of history moving not merely across nations but within the souls of her beautifully conceived characters.Phil Klay  National Book Awardwinning author of Redeployment  With incredible compassion and a delicate touch  Ayelet Tsabari explores the heartbreak inherent in forming bonds  whether with another person or with a whole country. The Best Place on Earth  a complicated love song to Israel  is a sure-footed and stunningly skillful debut.Shelly Oria  author of New York 1  Tel Aviv 0  Powerful . . . brilliant . . . These stories . . . depict minorities so skillfully  with such a light and accurate touch.The Daily Beast  Highly recommended . . . Compelling and compassionate; Tsabaris stories speak out from the heart of Israeli society and experiences. . . . The stories of The Best Place on Earth leave you wishing they wouldnt end.The Times of Israel  This short story collection is a fiction debut for Tsabari  but it demonstrates that she is already a talented storyteller. . . . Her writing has an immediacy and power that invites readers into her characters psyches.Publishers Weekly\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44944899178549,"sku":"ByrdShop_0812988930","price":28.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780812988932.jpg?v=1769859653","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-best-place-on-earth-stories","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}