Win­ner of the Asso­ci­a­tion of Writ­ers & Writ­ing Pro­grams (AWP) Award Series Prize for the Nov­el, Win­ner of the Hack­ney Award for the Novel

The nov­el­ist Zachary Lazar, the final judge of the AWP Con­test, wrote of his selection:

​“Rachel’s Tomb is a deft­ly ambi­tious nov­el about young sol­diers in the Israeli Defense Forces and the loved ones they’ve left behind. It brings to life with great artistry a diverse cast of sec­u­lar and reli­gious Jews, Arabs, Russ­ian and Ethiopi­an immi­grants, sol­diers and civil­ians — a com­plex image of Israel. The book’s absur­dist humor grace­ful­ly coun­ter­points the waste, loss, and ear­ly sor­row faced by its indeli­bly drawn characters.”