HILU, Alon << back to list Alon Hilu, born in 1972, is an Israeli writer and playwright, the author of DEATH OF A MONK and THE HOUSE OF DAJANI. He is the recipient of The President’s Award 2007 and is currently the legal counsel of an international Hi-Tec company. Web site http://www.alonhilu.com/home.html Bibliography & Foreign sales THE HOUSE OF DAJANI (Fiction) 2008 BEST SELLER SINCE PUBLICATION In The House of Dajani, Alon Hilu, interweaves two fictional diaries written in 1895 – one by a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, the other by a Polish-born Zionist aged 27. While Hilu’s Jewish protagonist focuses on acquiring fertile lands for the Jewish people and success with the ladies for himself, the Palestinian boy struggles with fierce, dark, detailed visions of the region’s future. He predicts the take-over of the land by massive Jewish immigration, the founding of Tel Aviv on his ancestors’ estates, and the tragedies awaiting the two peoples. The novel traces how the Zionist gradually take over the boy’s family’s possessions, including a decaying manor house located exactly where the three elegant Azrieli Towers stand today in the east of Tel Aviv. In the book, Hilu painfully pokes at some fundamental myths. Rights sold to: UK, Harvill; France, Editions du Seuil; Holland, Ambo/Anthos; Italy, Einaudi; Portugal, Quidnovi Reviews “The House of Dajani is a surprising and excellent novel, positioning Alon Hilu in a good stand within the first rank of the important Israeli literature” - Ynet “This is an important, great book, and I assume it will be much discussed in the future” – Haaretz Weekly Book Review (front page) “The most attractive young author around… The reviews danced in praise of him; in literary circles Hilu was marked as the next great hope; David Grossman called to offer his compliments. Now, with his new novel, The House of Dajani, Hilu is again taking the reader to raft in a raging river, faraway from 2008.” Yediot Ahronot ….Alon Hilu’s new and extraordinary The House of Dajani. This historical novel, based on authentic documents, spectacularly recreates what life was like for the Jews of Jaffa in the late 19th century, as well as life in the estate of the sheikh that gives the book its title.” Neri Livneh, Ha’aretz DEATH OF A MONK (Fiction) 2004 The place is Damascus, the year 1840. A stormy nighttime encounter between the Italian monk Tomaso and Atzlan Farhi, a Jewish youth and scion of a wealthy family of merchants, ends in an unexpected death of terrible ramifications: the Jews of Damascus are accused of having murdered the monk in order to use his blood for the baking of Passover matzahs. In rich, vivid language that startles in its virtuosity and versatility, Death of a Monk presents a fictitious version of the historical event known as the Damascus Blood Libel. Rights sold to: UK, Harvill; France, Editions du Seuil; Holland, Ambo/Anthos;Italy, Einaudi; Greece, Metaixmio; Israel, Xargol Film Rights: Uchovsky Fox Reviews ”A little masterpiece; a jewel of erudition, humor and subversion. One could not dream of a more beautiful imbroglio, subtle intrigues and unforeseen developments. All that set in Damascus, a town full of sensuality, perfume and gluttonous. A dazzling story with real historical facts… ” Livres Hebdo ”…a very intense, cruel and sometimes droll narrative in which death is the invitee of the last hour which will remain after all the others…” Le Monde ”It is almost a plot a la The Da Vinci Code: what really happened to Father Tommaso? Death of a Monk revisits an authentic event that happened in Damascus in 1840 and inserts a gay element. An excellent historical novel that unites marvelous descriptions of the epoch with a somewhat sassy thesis”. Tetu “Death of a Monk is a fascinating composite of history and hysteria, of a confessional novel and an actual historical event. It is a highly ambitious, excellent debut.” Ha’aretz