One of the more fascinating aspects of history comes from the impact it has on our modern world. While much of our study in this regard has always come from the near past (from the sixteenth century to the 20th century respectfully), the impact of ancient cultures and empires also helps to illustrate how far we’ve come, and yet how often we are doomed to repeat past mistakes in a more updated setting. Read more
The duality of feminine and masculine energies has been prevalent since the beginning of time, but it has never been as magnified as it is within the prism of mythology. In Casper's work, audiences have the opportunity to explore and break down the numerous variations of the Greek tragedy, Electra, as they pertain to the passionate and free feminine metaphor juxtaposed with the male metaphor of control and order. Read more
At one point or another in our lives, someone or something has had an influence on us in a way which was unique. Whether it is our favorite celebrities, a beloved family member, or a terrifying stranger, something that person said, or did, influenced us and our lives, and played a role in our development as a whole. This has been the subject of many a psychologist over the years, and has led to some breakthrough psychological studies. Read more
The text comprises of two perplexing stories, “Hidden” and “Hanover Gardens.” Featured in the first story, “Hidden,” is a young woman, Sarah, whose only source of solace and comfort is taken away when her parents die in a horrific war in Israel. She struggles with self-discovery and confidence in a warring world. The detrimental and atrocious ordeal she has to endure, including moving to a whole new country, meeting new people, new culture, and emotional distress, all seem to complicate her life incessantly. Read more
Author Casper has created two novellas in one volume, linked by sentiment and constructed in complex skeins of familial connections. The first one is set in Israel in the 1960s. A little girl is growing up in a caring but dysfunctional family environment. Tikvah lives with grandparents Baruch and Pnina Lazamof. Yet, the reader knows from the outset that Baruch will die by plunging down the stairs after visiting a closed room where a mysterious occupant, Hannah, needs meals delivered outside her door on the upper floor. Read more
There are two events in life that far too often go hand in hand, each elevating the other to a cascading series of pitfalls which we all have to endure and go through. Those two events are war and loss. For throughout human history, war has inevitably led to great loss, both for the nations that lost soldiers, and the families who lost loved ones. The last century especially has seen far too many families having to endure loss and pain in times of war, from the days of WWI and WWII to the more modern war on terror and beyond. Read more
Israela, authored by Batya Casper, is an incredibly well-written historical war fiction novel with mind-blowing themes and an excellent storyline. It narrates the lives of three women in war-torn Israel, exploring the issues of identity, heritage, womanhood, war, loss, grief, and Israeli culture. Ratiba, Orit, and Elisheva are the protagonists and the narrators of the entire plotline. Through the story, we come across recollections of nostalgic tales by the three women about their past. Read more
On the surface, Casper's narrative is a hauntingly beautiful tale of war's toll on a land stained with the blood of its children and sown in division and hate. Probing deeper, however, the narrative explores the ferocity with which the main characters pursue peace and love, even in the face of unimaginable darkness. From heart-wrenching sacrifices to uncovering family secrets, the story takes the reader on a journey through a search for one's identity that is inextricably tied to Israel's valiant attempts at redemption despite the ceaseless bombardment and bloodshed on its soil. Read more
Israela, by Dr. Batya Casper, is timely, well-written and cannot be ignored. This book is a masterful tapestry of the lives of three characters, their families, and a nation torn by age-old religious and civil strife. The narrative is always moving, filled with drama, covers the period from the birth of modern Israel (1948) to the present-day. Against a backdrop of war and suffering and human resiliency, the complex stories of the protagonists are woven. Ratiba and Orit are sisters by adoption—and Orit’s birth mother was a concentration camp victim of the Second World War. One of the many fascinations of this book is its magisterial blending of the recent history of the nation of Israel with its characters’ lives. Read more