Israel, 1970s. Lily, a young emigrant student exploring the wonders and terrors of her new land, finds the man of her dreams -- Ami, a former actor. Handsome, intelligent, and exciting, but like his beautiful, disintegrating country, Ami has a terrible flaw -- he is an army interrogator. As Ami and Lily's unexpected passion grows, so too does the shadow that hangs over them. They must face the unspeakable horrors of Ami's work and their uncertain future. While set in the '70s, Ten Thousand Lovers is a brilliant and terrifyingly contemporary tale of passion, suffering, and the transcending power of love. Editorial Reviews From Booklist The personal and the political are forever struggling to coexist, especially in Israel. Such is the case in this moving first novel about two lovers in Tel Aviv in the 1970s. Lilly is a young Canadian studying in Israel; Ami is a handsome former actor, the perfect boyfriend except for one flaw: he is an army interrogator. Ravel tells the tale in flashbacks, jumping between the past, as Ami becomes more and more disenchanted with the treatment of the Arab prisoners he must interrogate, and the present, as Lily, now a professor, remembers her first love. By setting the action at a time when the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands was in its first stage, Raveet adds an extra level of poignancy. Lily and her college friends anticipate peace, while Ami, seeing the hatred from both sides, is less sanguine. The tragedy here is both anticipated and inevitable, but the textured personal story rises above its political context like a melody soaring beyond the steady rhythm pulsing below it. Ilene Cooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review 'Ravel is a shrewd and compassionate storyteller' (The Sunday Herald)