In the cafés of Jerusalem, Aharon Appelfeld finally found his home, “not in the land of the Hebrew revolution, but the land of emigrés.” In the cafés of the city Appelfeld heard familiar languages, saw people who could be his “lost uncles and cousins,” immediately took in conversations and understood what ran underneath them, found his voice, and learned to write, as he continues to, at a table for one.
In A Table for One Appelfeld takes us to his Jerusalem, where Yiddish rings through the streets of Meah Shearim and children study ancient texts, where writers discuss their work over coffee and people argue politics and philosophy. This is not the Jerusalem of ancient and world-known sights. It’s the city where the displaced Appelfeld made his home port and from it launched his writing.
Appelfeld’s memoir The Story of a Life (Jewish Book World, Winter 5765/2004) told little about the author’s personal life. A Table for One is a nice counterpart, rich in personal conversations, observations, and anecdotes that reveal both the author and his Jerusalem. His Jerusalem is expanded by the paintings of his son, Meir, an accomplished artist, who, says Appelfeld, paints “our Jerusalem.” Paintings.
Maron L. Waxman, retired editorial director, special projects, at the American Museum of Natural History, was also an editorial director at HarperCollins and Book-of-the-Month Club.
