Four new Jewish novels recommended by Israel’s National Library

Three of the four novels shortlisted for the National Library of Israel's Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature are debut novels – and the fourth is only the author's second novel.

While last year's winner was the controversial non-fiction book, Palestine 1936 by Oren Kessler, this year the judges have returned to the prize's traditional fare, choosing novels that explore various facets of contemporary, historical and even possible future Jewish lives.

The prize will be announced later this month. The shortlisted novels are:

The story: Hannah and Eric Rosenthal are devout Jews living in North London with their three children and Eric’s father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. Both intellectually gifted and deeply unconventional, the Rosenthals believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament and in the presence of God (and evil) in daily life. As Hannah prepares to publish an account of Yosef's years in war-torn Europe — unearthing a terrible secret from his time in the camps — Elsie, her perfect daughter, starts to come undone. And then, in the wake of Yosef’s death, she disappears.

When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is altered in disturbing ways. Witnessing the complete transformation of her daughter, Hannah begins to suspect that Elsie has delved too deep into the labyrinths of Jewish mysticism and gotten lost among shadows. But for Elsie’s brother, Tovyah, the truth is much simpler: his sister is the product of a dysfunctional family, obsessed with rituals, traditions, and unbridled ambition. But who is right? Is religion the cure for the disease or the disease itself? And how can they stop the darkness from engulfing Elsie completely?