Four Mothers

“Come, listen, listen to the story of the curse that foreshadowed every father’s disappearance. Be comforted by your four mothers” Shifra Horn’s lyrical novel spans five generations of women and one hundred years of life in Jerusalem. While Amal is despondent at her husband’s desertion after the birth of her first child, her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother realise that the birth of a healthy boy means their family’s curse has been broken. Motherhood initiates Amal into the secrets of her family’s history and the rich tapestry of the lives of her four “mothers”: Mazal, whose ill-fated marriage brought about the curse; her daughter Sara, who has healing powers; Sara’s daughter, Pnina-Mazal, who can read others’ thoughts; and her daughter Geula – Amal’s mother – whose sharp intellect and idealism are both a gift and a burden.