Inspired by the author’s own experience, a novel of one female soldier’s fight to maintain her independence while serving in the Israeli army
Ariel Ron is the spoiled yet fiercely proud daughter of a renowned Israeli colonel, entering the army for her two-year period of compulsory military service. Rebellious and self-centered, she is determined to keep her independence within this highly structured system. Ariel expects that being the colonel’s daughter will win her favors in the army—but she is sorely mistaken. As she comes to terms with this reality, she embarks on a journey that forces her to look inward and reflect on her own values and connection to her homeland.
Based on Yaël Dayan’s own experience in the Israeli army and partly written when she was not yet twenty, this searing and honest first novel is a rare look at a young woman struggling to find her true self in a strange and uncomfortable environment.
Yaël Dayan is an Israeli author and political figure. Her father, Moshe Dayan, was the military leader who oversaw the stunning capture of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. Like her father, Dayan served in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, of which she was a member for ten years with the Labor Party. An outspoken activist, Dayan has been involved with Peace Now and other organizations fostering the peaceful coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians. She has written five novels, including Three Weeks in October, about the Yom Kippur War. Among Dayan’s nonfiction works are Israel Journal, a memoir about the Six-Day War, and My Father, His Daughter, a biography of Moshe Dayan.