Years after abandoning her novel on the brink of publication, Dorit Rabinyan returns to the story and discovers that she can no longer separate the fiction she created from her own personal history that inspired it. NINE SINGING LESSONS is an autofictional memoir structured as a “story within a story,” exploring family dynamics, unresolved grief, and the blurred line between creation and reality. The book unfolds in two parts, moving between fiction and Rabinyan’s own memories of her own childhood and family, shaped by her Persian-Jewish heritage. The first section recounts an intense novel Rabinyan wrote years ago, only to painfully withdraw it just before publication. In the second, the book turns inward, ultimately uncovering what led her to abandon the manuscript and revisit it now, fourteen years later.

Praise:

“She proves that even though the [child] prodigy has long grown up, the wonder remains. It is a well-written, chamber-like novel, original in its structure.” —Israel Hayom

“Dorit Rabinyan is revealed at her peak as she moves from a novel to a memoir.” —Ha’aretz

“The author Dorit Rabinyan touches fire once again.” —The Good Life

“Dorit Rabinyan’s book is most eloquent and touching.” —Makor Rishon

“[NINE SINGING LESSONS] is a brave and intimate work, a book about love, loss, memory, and the healing power of writing.” —Globes