When I started filling these notebooks I thought I was describing a strange chain of events that had happened to all of us. As I reread them now I realize that those pages tell the story of my growing up. And just as the happiest moments of my childhood were connected to Mom, so the meaningful moments of my adolescence are connected to you - to our meetings, our conversations, the days we had together. Remembering these gives me the strength to get through the grey days with Dad, the sad hours with Mom, and the three years I will have to waste in the army.
I still have a lot of questions about you. How is it that despite your sensitivity and wisdom you were so blind and unrealistic about certain things - like business? How is it you didn't understand what makes Mom tick; why didn't you guess how she'd respond? Is there some connection between the crazy way you tried to get rid of her and the even crazier way she clung to you? Are you living alone there, in Florida? Have you found a new love? Have you prepared your escape route better this time? Do you feel guilty? Are you lonely? Are you getting older? Are you any less handsome? And the question of questions: do you ever think about Mom, about Dad, about me?
The toughest thing of all is that I haven't got anyone I can talk to about this. Dr. Lifshitz means well, but what can he possibly understand? Mom hangs on each of our conversations, trying to use them to tell me a different version of what happened - which she's made up in the meantime; Dad doesn't want to hear anything more about the matter.
So, you've got no choice. We'll have to talk. A letter won't do. You yourself said that letters don't mean much. When I finish the army I'll come see you, wherever you are. Dad says I can forget about getting a visa to America for the next hundred years, but as you know: when I have to, I find a way. I'll get there.
New York, September 1988 - Tel Aviv, March 1990
Thank you.
Thank you very much for reading this book. It's very important to me to know what you think about it, so if you liked it please let me know by leaving me a review on Amazon. Just press this link.
Yours,
Amnon Jackont.
P.S,
If you’d like to read the first chapters of my novel The Rainy Day Man, please press this link, and I will send it to your e-mail.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amnon Jackont, an Israeli writer, editor, historian and businessman was born in 1948 in Belgium but grew up in Israel. He was a well-mannered boy from a family with a European lifestyle who slowly learned that in order to survive among children, he would have to use his fists. Since he was large and very strong, he also quickly had to learn self-control, so he wouldn’t cause any harm. He took up boxing as a hobby.
He joined the IDF and was wounded while serving in a hostile country, from which he was rescued after quite some time. His books, much like his life, are packed with adventures, psychological insights and sudden turns, forcing the reader to continue reading cover to cover in one breath.
Jackont was involved in business for many years (mainly in insurance, securities and real estate), along with his diverse literary activities. He has written eight novels, a collection of short stories, a financial-documentary book, and the biography of a Mossad leader. All of his works were best sellers and some were translated into foreign languages, including Chinese and Japanese. In addition, he has edited approximately 200 books of various kinds - from thrillers, to history and philosophy books.
In 1997 he decided to change his career in business, to a career in the academic world. He began studying at the General History Department of the Tel Aviv University. Within three years he completed his bachelor's degree with honors, and after an additional four years he completed his PhD dissertation. He also began to teach history, as well as prose writing in a unique way, based on dismantling and reassembling life's experiences. When he’s asked which of his many occupations he liked in particular, he answers, "The combination of them..."
The Last of the Wise Lovers Page 23