Yehoshua, A. B.

Yehoshua, A. B. (Abraham B. Yehoshua), 1936–, Israeli writer. From a Sephardic family, he graduated (1961) from Hebrew Univ. in his native Jerusalem. He has taught at several schools, and since 1967 has lived in Haifa, where he teaches at the city's university. One of the most acclaimed and widely translated living Hebrew novelists, Yehoshua is known for his beautifully observed portrayals of Jewish life, particularly in contemporary Israel with its many moral, psychological, sociopolitical, and philosophical conflicts. He first came to critical attention with short-story collections published in the 1960s. English translations of many of his stories are gathered in The Continuing Silence of a Poet (1991). His best-known novel is probably Mr. Mani (1990, tr. 1992), which follows six generations of a Jewish family from 1848 through subsequent times and various cities to 1980s Jerusalem. Other translated novels include The Lover (1977, tr. 1978), A Late Divorce (1982, tr. 1984) Five Seasons (1987, tr. 1989), Open Heart (1994, tr. 1995), A Journey to the End of the Millennium (1997, tr. 1999), The Liberated Bride (2001, tr. 2003), A Woman in Jerusalem (2004, tr. 2006), Friendly Fire (2007, tr. 2008), and The Retrospective (2013). Yehoshua is also a successful playwright, e.g., Possessions (1986, tr. 1993), and essayist, e.g., The Terrible Power of a Minor Guilt (1998, tr. 2000).

See B. Horn, Facing the Fires: Conversations with A. B. Yehoshua (1997)

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