Shifra Horn: Four Mothers

Reviewed by PENELOPE BIEDER

Spells, potions and superstitions weave in and out of this first novel from Israeli writer Shifra Horn. First published in Israel in 1996 where it was on the bestseller list for 15 months, much of that time at the top, translated into several languages since, it blends magical realism with a history of Jerusalem over the last 100 years. And while there are no dates as such, it is historically accurate and presents a long, affectionate tribute to this ancient city.

Horn has said that Jerusalem "is undoubtedly my greatest inspiration. Jerusalem leaves none indifferent - imagination and reality mingle, borderless realms of tangible and intangible merge. The magic of Jerusalem invokes a realistic fantastic style, with the results so believable many readers believe my stories are true. Indeed my writing has been compared to works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende, a flattering comparison that presents an aim worth striving for".

If magical realism is to your taste, you will love this headlong fairytale that spins a colourful, sensual yarn where women have long, lustrous hair to their ankles and exaggeration is turned into an art form.

Larger than life are the four mothers of the title, presented in linear fashion from great-grandmother Mazal then on to her enchanting daughter Sara, whose famous beauty becomes a symbol of her healing powers. Sara's daughter Pnina-Mazal is an unwanted child whose talent for knowing others' thoughts leads her into trouble, while her energetic, intellectual daughter Geula becomes so immersed in politics and activism she must go into hiding.

Finally, it is Geula's daughter Amal who narrates the story of her strong female ancestors.

The earnest feminist message that connects all the stories is at odds with the literary "fantastic style". If these women are stroppy, independent, theatrical, powerful mothers, they also exhibit a wayward neediness for men in their lives, if only to father children and be discarded. The men seem to be either stunning creatures like tall, blue-eyed Englishman Edward ("Sara was swallowed up in his blue eyes and refused to emerge from their warm lair"), horrifying and damaged like Yitzhak, Sara's deranged son, who sits "all day long in an ancient armchair ... his flabby stomach descended in degrees from his many double chins ... ", or in Amal's father's case, completely unknown.

Motherhood is thus celebrated at the expense of fatherhood - perhaps it even comes to stand for the birth of Israel itself. Full of rich details of daily life in Jerusalem, Four Mothers is easy to read, awash with bizarre dreams and visions - a dizzying, erotic, passionate and intensely abundant story.

Piatkus, $23.95

* Shifra Horn will be appearing at the Auckland Writers' and Readers' Festival, May 15-18.