This Year in Jerusalem

Jeffrey F. Barken’s debut collection combines the intimacy of the short story form with the scope of a novel, glimpsing interconnected characters at frightening and emotional moments.

Two childhood friends have betrayed each other. Myles Fletcher flees East to Israel, while Ari Shultz drives West across the United States. Kassam rockets fly in the prize-winning story The Guns in Gaza, and in Draft Dodger, a young man sneaks across the Israeli border, determined to visit his family after many years in exile. Meanwhile, in The News From Lebanon, Dr. Simon Shultz quietly awaits his mother’s death in her Florida condo. The title story, This Year in Jerusalem, brings eccentric characters together from all corners of the world for a Thanksgiving feast.

The collection is beautifully illustrated with Indian ink and Acrylic paintings by Diana Muller.