Judas

Winter 1959, Jerusalem. The eternal student Shmuel Ash, a good-natured and romantic fat man, does not know what he wants from life.
One day he sees a mysterious announcement on the bulletin board about a dust-free job for a humanities student.... Intrigued, Shmuel heads to an old Jerusalem neighborhood. In a dilapidated and ancient house, as old as the city itself, lives the intellectual Gershom Wald, who needs someone with whom he can engage in conversations and debates. In return, Shmuel is offered shelter, food, and a modest stipend. The house is also inhabited by Atalia, a mysterious beauty who astonishes with her icy aloofness. The old man Wald and Atalia share a past filled with secrets. Shmuel spends hours conversing with the old man, feels shy in front of the enigmatic Atalia, and becomes increasingly fascinated by the theme of Judas's betrayal, which keeps emerging in their philosophical debates. The mysteries related to this woman trouble him, and as he delves deeper into an almost detective investigation, he uncovers the incredible and terrifying story of Atalia and Wald.
A new novel by Israeli classic Amos Oz - about betrayal and its essence, about the dark side of Jewish-Christian relations, which have also marked contemporary Arab-Jewish history.
The tender, softly ironic prose of Amos Oz is full of internal tension, immersing the reader in the mysterious atmosphere of the long-gone old Jerusalem and the enigmatic story of Judas.