A beautiful, razor-sharp story of love, struggle and an all conquering kindness, set against the raw and vibrant human landscape of Jaffa.
Adon, an ascetic en route to make the last payment on a cheap apartment, comes upon a violent crime about to take place. Acting on impulse and with no other moral choice, he gives all of his money to a pimp to save the life of a prostitute, Lili. Instead of gratitude, Lili attacks Adon about his motives, and eventually, Shuki, the pimp and drugged-out gangster, enters unwelcome into Adon’s life.
Adon, Lili, and Shuki play out their dangerous dance of life in the salty air in front of the sweeping variety of Jaffa’s human fabric: owners and residents of cafés, large families, Catholic and Greek Orthodox monks, superstitious fishermen, a business owner and an unwilling mistress.
The tension rises from page to page as Shlomo Kalo weaves another marvelously written and realistic fictional tapestry packed with insights into the darker side of life, as well as a soul lifting depiction of people struggling to make a difference – or who are just getting by on their wits and love of each other.
In LILI, from pain and conflict comes hope and salvation.
“Lili is an ambitious, sweeping book, especially moving at the end…Shlomo Kalo is, obviously, a writer of talent, vision and significant accomplishment” Daniel Manaker, HarperCollins
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