Olivia, Mourning (44 page)

Book 3 is not a “continuation” of Book 2 in the same sense that Book 2 continues Book1. Book 3 does answer the question asked in its title and provides a narrative account of how Olivia, Mourning, and Little Boy became reunited, but it skips three generations forward to focus on descendants of the Killion and Free families, who are still struggling with problems echoing those faced by Olivia and Mourning.

It's 1967 and Charlene Connor has just graduated from U of M, without her "Mrs." Her mother recently passed away and soon afterwards her father fled the silence to a new start elsewhere. So Charlene is going "home" to an empty house.

Two things will make this long, hot summer bearable: Reeves Valenti, the high school sweetheart she left behind, and the African-American lawyer who knocks on her door, bringing information about her great-great-great Aunt Olivia Killion. Charlene has always longed to know what happened to Olivia and her friend and partner Mourning Free; she didn’t know that finally discovering the answers to her questions would bring a new person – and a fundamental change – into her life.

This book is not autobiographical. In most things Charlene Connor is my opposite. In many ways she is my fantasy of what I would like to be. I did, however, grow up as a "Foundation kid” at 32 Brookline Lane in Dearborn, Michigan, which is not far from Olivia's farm. Since 1973 I have lived in Israel.

British Mandate Palestine and the new State of Israel – 1934-1967

Tonia’s parents take her to live on Kfar Etzion, an isolated and struggling religious kibbutz south of Jerusalem. Fifteen-year-old Tonia does not believe that their dream of establishing a Jewish state will ever come to be. Life on the kibbutz is harsh and Tonia dreams of security and a little comfort, though material wealth for its own sake is not what she longs for. She wants something simple – to be able to bring up her own children under a roof of her own, in a place where they won’t feel constantly threatened. She is determined to seek this different life in America – as soon as she is old enough – even though that means turning her back on her love for Amos Amrani, a handsome young Yemenite who belongs to the Jewish underground.

Much of this novel takes place in Kfar Etzion, during its establishment, siege, and fall to the Arab Legion during hostilities immediately prior to Israel’s War of Independence – resulting in the massacre of its surviving defenders. A later part of the story is set in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Tonia tries to find her new life.

This is one of very few English novels that take place in British Mandate Palestine and the only one that tells the story of Kfar Etzion. While the characters are fictional, historical events are accurately portrayed. The Lonely Tree, however, does not read like a history book. It is a character-driven love story with no political agenda.

See reviews and an excerpt at: yaelpolitis.wordpress.com/the-lonely-tree

Review Extracts

“The first book in a long time that I finished in a day, because I didn't want to put it down. I have been plodding through too many books lately and it is not fun. I love reading books I can get swept up in and The Lonely Tree is like that.”

Susan Shaul, Amazon Customer

“For me this book is one of the reading highlights of the year, a powerful story that stayed with me long after I finished reading.”

Christoph Fischer, Author, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer

“The most moving book I have read this year …This is a story that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it. The author’s writing is vivid and authentic and I cannot recommend ‘The Lonely Tree’ highly enough. Someone should make a mini series, because this story is far too big for one film.”

Catherine Cavendish, Author, Blogger

“The Lonely Tree, movingly written by rising author Yael Politis, is an important contribution to Jewish and Zionist literature. A work of fiction, it tells the history of Kfar Etzion – an isolated religious kibbutz in the Etzion Bloc, which was destroyed on the eve of Israel’s War of Independence and subsequently rebuilt after the land was liberated in 1967.”

Atara Beck,
Jewish Tribune,
Toronto

“Politis’ style is restrained, economical and mostly understated. She is a remarkably unobtrusive author. I believe that you will find not a single dull paragraph in this entire work. It is a gripping insight into the psyche of several different kinds of person, a vivid account of the forces that drive both human idealism and human destructiveness.”

Gold Dust Magazine, UK

Awards

2012  Honorable Mention, Eric Hoffer Award

2009  Book of the Year Award - YWO

For Martha

This book had a lot of help from my big sister Martha, who was like no other woman I know. She was extremely social, the “glue” that held family and friends together, and yet chose to spend the last part of her life living in a beautiful but isolated log home. She hunted her own land and was as independent and stubborn as Olivia. She gave to me generously – love, friendship, encouragement, insight, too much fabulous food, and just enough alcohol. I miss her every day.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are owed to my friend and “overseer” Jane Abramowitz, who never fails to go the extra mile for her friends. I also received invaluable support and feedback on the books in this series from Tina Foley, Rasana Atreya, Carol Kean, Linda Scharaga, Mark Thomas, Michael Greenberg, Bobbi Dekay, Erik Cross, Michal Weissman, Yvonne Schumacher Strejcek, and Henry Tobias.

  About the Author

Yael Politis grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, not far from Olivia’s farm. She spent years researching the backdrop for Olivia’s story, enjoying the challenge of recreating daily life in another time and place. She based many of the details (including how Mourning got his name) on letters and journals passed down through her family, over seven generations of lives lived in the American Midwest. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin she moved to Israel, where she has worked as an agricultural laborer, librarian, Hebrew-English translator, editor, English teacher, technical writer, and proposal writer.