Journalist Leon Abramowitz never intended to immigrate to Palestine. Yet in 1922, four years after he was sent there from Europe to report on the lives of the pioneers, he discovers that the editor who dispatched him has run off with half of the paper's money, leaving Leon forgotten in The Promised Wilderness. This chain of events opens The World a Moment Later, which tells the story of Abramowitz and his two children. One son stays in Europe, while the other, young Haim Abramowitz, joins his father in Palestine, heading a group of orange pickers and destined to become a legend in his time. This is also the story of Yehezkel Klein, an ex-underground activist who wanted to be a "regular" Zionist but finds himself instead taking a vow of protest against his country-to never to leave his home; Lev Gutkin, a handsome Russian who arrives in Israel with a smoking gun after his long-standing plan to assassinate Stalin is thwarted when Stalin dies; David Bonhoeffer, a righteous nomad who tends to poor souls who have been neglected even by the Social Services; the late Naomi Riklin, who still controls the life of Doctor Riklin, healer of the infertile; Rivka Abramowitz, who eats only lemons and spices, and Shmuel Klein, a medal of honor-wearer who is an electrician by profession and a pyromaniac by hobby.
The World a Moment Later is the shadow book of the official Zionist lexicon. It is the book of those who were forgotten by the national narrative of Israel, collected here to be remembered. These are the people who did not enter the encyclopedias, but still, their lives contributed anger, wisdom, despair, frustration, bitterness, malice and endless love to the country. This is a fully-fledged humanistic novel which respects the myths of Theodor Herzl and Ze'ev Jabotinsky, but nonetheless is dedicated to the anonymous masses. It stems simultaneously from realism and fantasy, and provides an in-depth exploration of the question: what are we doing here?
Translated by Jessica Cohen from the Hebrew HaOlam, Ktsat Achar-kach.
About the Author
 Amir Gutfreund was born in Haifa in 1963. After studying applied mathematics at the Technion, he joined the Israeli Air Force. Awarded the Sapir Prize in 2003, Gutfreund lives in the Galilee with his wife, a clinical psychologist, and their three children.
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The Critics Praise:
“Gutfreund, blending documentary precision with wild flights of fancy, takes
you inside the very process of "becoming" Israeli in the
20th century…There's humor here, but also real drama and insight into how a
country, however unified it looks from the outside, is often an unwieldy vessel
with a host of contrarian oarsmen trying to steer it in different directions — plus one kite-flier heading off on a tangent entirely
her own.”
- The Seattle Times
"Although there is heroism and tragedy in this novel, the tone
is ironic and often humorous. The writing is clear, unvarnished, and has a
simple beauty... Some readers may miss a prolonged focus on one character, but
the true protagonist of this novel is a nation surviving in face of the constant
threat of war. Gutfreund does not idealize or vilify Israel, Israelis, or human
beings in general. He gives the reader a sense of his affection for all three. I
cannot imagine reading this book without being deeply moved by the story of
Israel."
- Historical Novels Review
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