Synopsis

In the Lebanese village of Bhamdoun in 1931, Joseph Friedmann is born to a 15-year-old Syrian-Jewish girl hastily married off to a Belgian businessman thirty years her senior. After his parents divorce, Joseph’s new Christian step-father refuses to rear a Jewish child. At the age of eight, Joseph is banished to a Catholic convent, where he experiences betrayal, anti-Semitism, and a deep trauma he cannot bring himself to name. He learns to survive by locking away his feelings. But at the age of fifteen, he allows himself to fall in love with Isabella, a nun-in-training. This, too, ends in heartbreak. She leaves the convent, taking with her Joseph’s unborn child and his hopes of ever belonging in Lebanon.

Joseph sets out on foot toward Palestine, where he takes part in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. He is finally home. But his new country needs his unique set of skills, and Joseph returns to Lebanon as an Israeli spy. Over time, the tools of his trade – daring, violence, deceit, and suppression of self – exact an ever-increasing toll. After twenty years under cover, he completes one final, decisive operation. Now he faces a choice: escape to safety in Israel, or attempt to lay claim to his future by confronting the past – the mother who forsook him; the abbess who abused him; the lover who deserted him.

THE WOLF SHALL DWELL WITH THE LAMB is a literary thriller. The thoroughly researched historical and cultural backdrop will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah. Readers of Daniel Silva will be attracted to the realistic depictions of Israeli spycraft. This work contextualizes the geopolitical, religious, social, and historical realities of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the roots of the current violence in the Middle East. The world needs this novel precisely at this time. The book reminds us of the historical imperatives leading to the founding of the State of Israel, while acknowledging the pain and longing experienced by its Arab citizens and neighbors.

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Review

What a unique storyline. This novel is the life of Joseph, who, at 8, is basically abandoned by his mother to live in a convent and receive his education there. It is important to note that Joseph is Jewish, so a convent is not the first place you would expect him to land. But his mother has ties to this convent, and for her, it was the best place she could think of to leave him. While these years are not easy, you can see his growth into a young man, and what shapes him into the man he becomes.

The author does a wonderful job of weaving history into this novel and the conflicts that still occur in the Middle East. Some of the conflict remains today regarding religious beliefs and freedoms. People’s narrow-mindedness is just as true today as it was back then.

The story starts off a little slowly until it hits about the 30% mark, and from there it becomes faster-paced and draws the reader into the history of the world at that time. I was drawn into Joseph’s world and eager to see what would happen next.

I found this tale intriguing and admire the author for the authentic world he portrayed, and the world he shared drew me in, as if I were there.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Emmet Hirsch grew up in Jerusalem and served as an artillery officer in the Israel Defense Forces. He is now an obstetrician-gynecologist. His creative reflections on the intersection between the humanities and medicine and short stories have appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Chicago Tribune, The Examined Life, and other publications. In December 2023, THE WOLF SHALL DWELL WITH THE LAMB won first place in the Finest First Five Pages contest of the Chicago-area Off-Campus Writers’ Workshop.

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