Noa Yedlin's novel 'House Arrest' arrives in English
The 2013 Hebrew bestseller explores family dynamics and financial scandal in Jerusalem.
By Diego Mendoza ·
Noa Yedlin's novel House Arrest hit English language shelves on October 13. The book was originally published in Hebrew in 2013 under the title Ba'alat Habayit. New Vessel Press released the 424 page hardcover at a price of $20. Shira Atika and Evan Fallenberg handled the translation.
The narrative follows Elisheva Fogel, a respected resident of the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem. She serves as vice chair of the Hirsch Center for Peace. Investigators accuse her of accepting bribes, laundering money, and falsifying documents. The legal case serves as the backdrop for the story. It focuses on the impact of the scandal on Elisheva and her husband Ben-Ami's grown children.
The story is told from the perspective of Barak, the middle child. He is 40 years old and works in academia. Barak struggles with his relationship with his estranged wife and young daughter. He must reconcile his belief in his mother's innocence with creeping doubts. His siblings Daphna and Eitan also navigate the crisis. The novel examines how the family bonds shift under the pressure of the public scrutiny.
Yedlin won the 2013 Sapir Prize and the 2021 Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works. She also created a television series based on her novel Stockholm. Jessica Cohen, who translated Stockholm, praised Yedlin's ability to capture character thought processes. Cohen noted that Yedlin tracks every thought and second thought with such fluency that the characters feel real.
The English translation preserves Yedlin's distinctive style. Her sentences are long and filled with subclauses. The dialogue lacks traditional quotation marks. This technique creates a dense flow of thought. Co-translator Evan Fallenberg said the team mimicked this method to capture the manic nature of the characters' minds. The format mirrors the constant stream of consciousness in the text.
The plot includes a scene at the National Library where Barak reads his mother's 30 year old doctoral thesis. The thesis focuses on Zionist thinker David Wolfson. The legal case against Elisheva reveals details about coexistence NGOs. Yedlin maintains suspense regarding her guilt until the final page. The book explores how crisis can either pull family members together or drive them apart.
The novel is available now in bookstores. It offers a look at Jerusalem through the eyes of a leftist family. The story balances social commentary with personal drama. Readers follow Barak as he tries to understand his role in the family. The ending resolves the tension between his siblings' competing instincts and his own need for self-reliance.
