Review of 'Songs for the Brokenhearted' by Ayelet Tsabari

If there’s a soundtrack to Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari (Random House, September 10, 2024), it probably soundsvery much like Ofra Haza's ‘Yemenite Songs’ album. Like the album, thisoutstanding novel is a stage for Yemenite women sharing the traditional,sinuous tunes of a culture where singing is a day-to-day activity.

“You know how it is with Yemeni people. Singing is in ourblood,” says one of the characters in the book. “We sing when we clean, we singwhen we cook. We sing when we’re happy. We sing when we’re sad. Incelebrations. Even in death.”

It is a death that brings Zohara, a 31-year-old PhDcandidate, back to Israel. Zohara’s mother, Saida, has died. The two hadn’talways gotten along. ‘Only after I moved to New York had we reached a quiet,dignified truce,’ Zohara tells herself. ‘I finally made it home again. and shewasn’t here.’

Along with her sister Lizzie, Zohara sets out to purchase agravestone and pack up their mother’s home in the Sha’ariya Yemini neighborhoodof Petach Tikva. At the grocery store down the street, Zohara meets Nir, withwhom she went to elementary school. Nir’s mother, Yael, introduces her to thesisterhood of women who gather at the community center to sing. As women traditionallyplay secondary roles in Yemeni households, Zohara ‘started thinking of thewomen’s songs, that insistence to be heard, as subversive, audacious, feministeven. I liked the idea of the women using their creative expression as a formof protest.’

When she discovers a set of old cassette tapes, the music 'bringsZohara closer to her mother, to understand her more after she died than she didwhen she was alive.' ‘It made me see my mother in a whole new light.’ Zohara isshocked to learn that her mother not only sang but was also a talented poetess.A woman capable of writing explicit lyrics.

‘If I were grapes strung on a vine, I’d squeeze the fleshof my fruit and pour juice into your mouth’.

At its heart of Songs for the Brokenhearted isa love story. It is the tale of Saida and Yaqub, who first met in an immigrantcamp in 1950, shortly after their arrival in Israel. “My heart is full ofrain. If it bursts, it might flood the whole time,” Saida sings, and theyoung girl's beautiful voice captivates Yaqub. “Singing is the one thing thatkeeps me sane in this place,” she tells him. “I miss the way we sang in Yemen,all the women together.”

Zohara’s discovery of her mother’s musical talents makes herreconsider the subject of her dissertation. She also reexamines her connectionwith Iggy, a former lover and her current best friend. Or maybe her friendshipwith Nir can advance to the next level, she wonders.

Tsabari, author of the award-winning The Best Place onEarth short story collection, populates her pages with true to lifecharacters. Zohara’s nephew, Yoni, struggles to find meaning during thepolitically charged weeks leading up to November 1995. Lizzie’s frustrationswith her sister are easily understood, and readers will readily connect withZohara, as she is drawn closer to her mother and learns more about herself inthe process.

You can almost hear Saida singing her original lyrics totraditional Yemenite songs as you read this moving, highly recommended novel.

Ayelet Tsabari’s debut collection of shortstories, The Best Place on Earth, won the Sami Rohr Prize forJewish Literature and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award. Her memoir The Art ofLeaving was a finalist for the Writer’s Trust Hilary Weston Prize, and the winnerof the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for memoir. She’s the co-editor of theanthology Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language and has taughtcreative writing at Guelph MFA in Creative Writing and The University of King’sCollege MFA.

 

Originally posted on The Times of Israel.

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