Jerusalem, the Cry!

Alan is a Portuguese Jew whose life takes him from Portugal to Israel. Jerusalem, the Cry! follows that journey and is shaped by self-reflection and by a love that is lost and then found again years later.

In Galilee, Alan meets a cousin and is reunited with family that war had separated. An old professor urges him to apply to the Hebrew University, and Alan decides to do so and possibly settle in Israel for good. The move separates him from Dana, whom he loves and who is Catholic. At first the distance is bearable. Alan builds his new life while Dana finishes her studies. Then an unexpected event leaves her too broken to reach out to him. Devastated, the two lose the little connection they had left, and Alan goes on alone.

The book is framed as a love letter to Dana. Since he could not share a life with her over the years, Alan writes down the childhood stories he might have told her and the conversations they might have had in person. Along the way the story takes up fascism, socialism, Judaism and antisemitism.