The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem (64 page)

 

Acknowledgments

My late father, Mordechai Yishai, waited a long time for me to finish writing this book so he could read it. I also awaited the moment when I would be able to hand him the manuscript with a dedication.

My father died a few months before the book was published. I do not have the words to thank him for the many hours he sat with me, telling me his Jerusalem stories and reliving an entire period with infinite love and patience. I treasure those moments. It was my father who chose the name Ermosa for my fictional family.

And when I think of my father, I always think about my mother, Levana Yishai, née Nachmias. They always come to me together. So it was in their lifetime and so it is after their death, and not a day goes by without me thinking of them both.

I owe a profound debt of gratitude to my beloved wise aunt, Miriam Nachum, my mother's sister, who gave me all the time I asked for, taught me Ladino words and expressions, and time traveled with me to the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Thanks to what she related to me, those years took on shape, form, and life before my very eyes.

All my life my mother told me to observe her cousin Ben Zion—“Bentzi” as he was known in our family—to learn from him, broaden my knowledge. And I indeed learned and broadened my knowledge. My thanks to author Ben Zion Nachmias, from whose wonderful book
Hamsa
I learned about the customs of Jerusalem and the city's atmosphere at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Thanks to the various generations of the Nachmias and Yishai families for the inspiration and love they have heaped upon me since the day I was born, especially my two brothers Raffi and Alon.

Special thanks to my forever-young aunts Esther Mizrachi and Miriam Kadosh.

A huge thank-you to my dear friend Ronny Modan. I told Ronny that I dreamed about writing a novel, I showed her the first pages I'd written, and on the basis of what little she'd read, she'd decided to publish the book. It was an expression of faith I will never forget. And in the same breath I thank Shula and Oded Modan and the Modan family, especially Keren Uri, Naama Carmeli, Tali Tchelet, and Ada Vardi, for their unwavering support and the home they've given me since the day we met.

My heartfelt thanks to my superb Hebrew editors, Michal Heruti and Shimon Riklin, whose comments and clarifications were such a great help, and which constraints of space do not allow me to fully describe. Thank you, Michal, for your professionalism, meticulousness, direction, and support, and for the great interest you showed. Thank you, Shimon, for your patience, your accuracy, your attention to the smallest details, and your way of calming me. Without the two of you the book would not have been the sum of all its parts.

Thanks to my wonderful translator, Anthony Berris, my English editor, Melanie Fried, and to Staci Burt, Karen Masnica, Brant Janeway, Nancy Inglis, and all those who worked behind the scenes at Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press. Thank you also to Vick Giasov, Tal Shoham, Aviad Ivri, and all those at the Israeli consulate who supported this book's publication.

Thanks to a wonderful woman, the miracle worker, my beloved friend Raya Strauss Ben Dror. Thank you, Raya, for believing in me from day one, and for entrusting me with writing my first book,
Strauss: The Story of a Family and an Industry,
the story of your family. You believed in me when I did not yet believe that I could write an entire book. You gave me my first opportunity. I will be forever grateful.

Thanks to Chava Levi, Rocheleh Kerstein, Kami Wahaba, and Ariella Aflallo. Each of you is unique in her own way for me, and I deeply appreciate the fact that you're always there for me, enveloping me with unconditional love.

My thanks to my colleagues at
Olam Ha'isha,
Avi Dassa, Haggai Malamud, and Michal Hamri, and especially editor in chief Mary York, for the years of working together and for the many things I've learned from you.

And to my beloved children, Maya, Dan, and Uri—thank you.

 

About the Author

SARIT YISHAI-LEVI
is a journalist and author of four nonfiction books. Her debut novel,
The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem,
was a #1 bestseller and won the Publishers Association's Gold and Platinum Prizes and the Steimatzky Prize for bestselling book of the year when it was published in Israel. She lives in Tel Aviv. You can sign up for email updates
here
.

 

Thank you for buying this

St. Martin's Press ebook.

 

To receive special offers, bonus content,

and info on new releases and other great reads,

sign up for our newsletters.

 

Or visit us online at

us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

 

For email updates on the author, click
here
.

 

Contents

Title Page

Copyright Notice

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Copyright

 

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.

An imprint of St. Martin's Press.

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF JERUSALEM.
Original text copyright © 2013 by Sarit Yishai-Levi and Modan Publishing House Ltd. English translation copyright © 2016 by Anthony Berris. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

Published by arrangement with the Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature.

www.thomasdunnebooks.com

www.stmartins.com

Cover design by Michael Storrings

Cover photography by Win-Initiative/Getty Images

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-1-250-07816-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4668-9050-3 (e-book)

e-ISBN 9781466890503

Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at
[email protected]
.

Originaly published in Israel in 2013 by Modan Publishing House Ltd.

First U.S. Edition: April 2016