"What a bummer that you can't lie to yourself, or rather, that you can only do so up to a certain point. But it's like trying to drive backward on a train while ignoring the wall it's about to crash into with full force. At some point, it will catch up to you. So I prefer to face the pain. To feel it, to sense it, to ache through it, and only then to let it go. To hell with them all. Let her and her Arik be damned, or any of her other companions. There, that's how I love myself. Yet love is an addictive drug. Not something you can just stop or quit if you want to. Not even if you're forced to. I tried to come up with a thousand logical reasons to convince my brain to make my heart stop loving her, but to no avail. You can be disheartened by someone you love, you can be angry at them, but you can't stop loving them."
*** Thirty years of unrequited love. One enigmatic childhood friend. And a journey through memory and the shores of Goa that breaks every rule of reality.
Fatel follows Hagai as he navigates the liberating coast of India alongside Moran-the woman he's secretly loved for decades-and her ex, who happens to be his best friend. As boundaries blur and unspoken truths surface, a father's confession to his daughter reveals the haunting line between love, loyalty, memory, grief, and the extreme lengths taken to bring new life into the world.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
"At its core, Fatel is a novel that maintains a constant dialogue with its readers. It possesses groundbreaking qualities in its examination of collective human identity and is remarkably raw and daring. Geva is not an author who takes his readers, his subjects, or his content lightly; he is a freedom fighter of the boldest kind, propelling his readers beyond their existential boundaries. Through a wide-ranging narrative that reflects invaluable modern issues such as self-image, identity, community, and status-and featuring narrative crossroads reminiscent of Lewis Carroll-Geva displays a virtuoso ability to penetrate the deepest recesses of his characters' souls. This is a defining work of art."
- Author Doron Braunshtein
"Aviv Geva continues to mesmerize readers with a unique and utterly unconventional narrative."
"The book is intense, raw, and unapologetically bold, crafted to unsettle and provoke. Geva engages in a profound dialogue with his audience, raising deep insights and questions that challenge fundamental perceptions of life. He forces the readers out of their comfort zones, pushing boundaries to the edge. Aviv holds up a mirror to our lives. This is not just a book-it is a guide to the depths of the soul."
- Sara Rachmiel Book Reviews
*** "Hagai?" She suddenly interrupted the semi-intimate scene playing out in my feverish mind... "Funny guy," she said, rising to a standing position and almost toppling both of us off the hammock. "It seems like you're done for today..." She referred to the high that had enveloped and consumed me so completely that I must have appeared utterly dreamy to her. "I'll let you continue to chill here on your own, without any unnecessary interruptions," she smiled, blew a kiss to the air, and left.
Interruptions? What interruptions Wait a minute... Moran! I cried out in my heart as she was walking away from me. "Goodnight, sweetie!" she shouted from a distance. I just wanted to tell you that... those were the fifteen most beautiful minutes of my life! Just so you know, Moran... just know that... I haven't stopped loving you nearly at all. I haven't started hesitating about you nearly at all. If only someone would lay aside the barriers of our path."
Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone?