Each sto­ry in David Ehrlich’s short sto­ry col­lec­tion Who Will Die Last: Sto­ries of Life in Israel fea­tures char­ac­ters that offer dif­fer­ent per­spec­tives on life in Israel as they explore such issues as truth, love, iden­ti­ty, lone­li­ness, and sense of purpose.

One of the most pow­er­ful sto­ries grap­ples with the uni­ver­sal response of sol­diers who leave the mil­i­tary to enter the civil­ian world. ​“It’s that empti­ness, when there are no exer­cis­es or maneu­vers to pre­pare for, when no one needs you on the dou­ble, when you feel low­er than low…”

Of the twen­ty-one short sto­ries, one par­tic­u­lar top­ic is explored more than oth­ers, the issue of being gay in Israel.

While read­ing these sto­ries a range of emo­tions will be expe­ri­enced from sad­ness to humor. The col­lec­tion edi­tor, Ken Frieden said it best in the pref­ace, “[Israel] is an enig­mat­ic coun­try that is as mag­i­cal as it is haunt­ed by harsh real­i­ties,” which is reflect­ed in these short stories.

Read David Ehrlich’s Posts for the Vis­it­ing Scribe