The Woman Beyond The Sea by Sarit Yishai-Levi

A mesmerizing novel about three generations of women who have lost each other—and the quest to weave them back into a family.

The Woman Beyond the Sea traces the paths of a daughter, mother, and grandmother who lead entirely separate lives, until finally their stories and their hearts are joined together.

Eliya thinks that she’s finally found true love and passion with her charismatic and demanding husband, an aspiring novelist—until he ends their relationship in a Paris café, spurring her suicide attempt. Seeking to heal herself, Eliya is compelled to piece together the jagged shards of her life and history.

Eliya’s heart-wrenching journey leads her to a profound and unexpected love, renewed family ties, and a reconciliation with her orphaned mother, Lily. Together, the two women embark on a quest to discover the truth about themselves and Lily’s own origins...and the unknown woman who set their stories in motion one Christmas Eve.

About the author

Sarit Yishai-Levi is a renowned Israeli journalist and author. In 2016 she published her first book, The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem. It immediately became a bestseller and garnered critical acclaim. The book sold more than three hundred thousand copies in Israel, was translated into ten languages, and was adapted into a TV series that won the Israeli TV award for best drama series. It also won the Publishers Association’s Gold, Platinum, and Diamond prizes; the Steimatzky Prize for bestselling book of the year in Israel; and the WIZO France Prize for best book translated into French.

Yishai-Levi’s second book, The Woman Beyond the Sea, was published in 2019. It won the Publishers Association’s Gold and Platinum prizes and was adapted for television by Netflix. Yishai-Levi was born in Jerusalem to a Sephardic family that has lived in the city for eight generations. She’s been living with her family in Tel Aviv since 1970.

Review

‘The Woman Beyond The Sea’ is a sweeping tale that follows three generations of women in an Israeli family. It was a fascinating look at how trauma can reverberate through families and how healing and forgiveness can really cleanse the soul.

Eliya is obsessed with her husband Ari until he dumps her in a Parisian cafe. This leads to a breakdown and ultimately a suicide attempt. Eliya has to heal herself and her fractured relationships with her family. Her mother Lily is a cold woman with secrets of her own. Abandoned at birth at a convent she knows nothing about her mother which has led to issues throughout her life emotionally. Can the family heal and come together?

I really enjoyed this saga but I felt more affinity with Lily than Eliya for some reason. Despite me having a very similar experience to Eliya when I was younger. I just felt Lily had a more nuanced story and I enjoyed the resolution to it. I also really felt for Eldad and his story as well. It was also very interesting to see a little more of the human side of life in Israel before the Holocaust.

Let me know if you pick this one up!