David Shahar (1926-1997) was an Israeli fiction writer, translator, and editor best known for his depiction of old Jerusalem in the multi-volume historical saga ''The Palace of Shattered Vessels'' (1968–94).

Life and work

He was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in June 1926, to a pious ultra-orthodox Jewish family that had lived in the city for several generations. His ancestors arrived in Jerusalem in the 19th century, from Hungary on his father's side and the Russian Empire on his mother's side. According to family stories, his father's side was descended from Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. Shahar studied at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...

in Jerusalem. He was involved with the Irgun Tzvai Leumi and the

Canaanite movement Canaanite may refer to: * Canaan and Canaanite people, Semitic-speaking region and civilization in the Ancient Near East *Canaanite languages *Canaanite religion *Canaanites (movement) Canaanism was a cultural and ideological movement founded ...

, and identified as an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

, right-wing writer. Shahar's series of novels ''The Palace of Shattered Vessels'' is recognized by many as his masterpiece, considered a realist depiction of life in pre-State Jerusalem. Regarded as an Israeli version of

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous En ...

by French and some Israeli critics, he won the

Prix Medicis Etranger Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who als ...

and the title of Commander in the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system ...

. He also won Israeli literary awards such as the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, ...

, the

Agnon Prize People with the name of Hagnon or Agnon (in Greek: Ἅγνων) include: * Hagnon of Peparethus, ancient Greek athlete, victor in the stadion race of the 53rd Olympiad (568 BC) *Hagnon, son of Nikias, 5th century BC, Athenian general and statesman ...

and the

Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works The Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works, also known as the Levi Eshkol Literary Award, named after Israel's third Prime Minister, is an annual award granted to writers in the Hebrew language. The prize was established in 1969. Abou ...

. He had two children with the medieval historian

Shulamith Shahar Shulamith Shahar (Hebrew: שולמית שחר; born 1928) is an Israeli historian. Shahar's 1981 study ''Fourth Estate: A History of Women in the Middle Ages'' was the first to specifically examine the role of women in the medieval period. The boo ...

, one of them was the Israelian sinologist,

Meir Shahar Meir Shahar ( he, מאיר שחר, born in 1959 in Jerusalem) is the Shaul Eisenberg Chair for East Asian Affairs at Tel Aviv University. Academic career Meir Shahar attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and then studied Chinese language, Ch ...

. He died in Paris in 1997. Poet and chemist Avner Treinin spoke at his funeral when Shahar was buried on the Mount of Olives.

Works

Short story collections

*''Concerning Dreams'' (1955) l Ha-Chalomot*''Caesar'' (1960) eisar*''The Fortune Teller'' (1966) agid Ha-Atidot*''The Death of the Little God'' (1970) oto Shel Ha-Elohim Ha-Katan*''The Popeʹs Moustache'' (1971) famo Shel Ha-Apifyor

Novels

*''Moon of Honey and Gold'' (1959) erach Ha-Dvash Ve-Ha-Zahav*''Riki’s Secret'' (1960) odo Shel Riki: Harpatkotav Shel Riki Maoz*''Summer in the Street of the Prophets'' he Palace of Shattered Vessels, vol. 1(1969) ayitz Be-Derech Ha-Neviʹim*''A Voyage to Ur of the Chaldees'' he Palace of Shattered Vessels, vol. 2(1971) a-Masa Le-Ur Kasdim*''The Day of the Countess'' he Palace of Shattered Vessels, vol. 3(1976) om Ha-Rozenet*''His Majestyʹs Agent'' (1979) ochen Hod Malchuto*''Nin-Gal'' he Palace of Shattered Vessels, vol. 4(1983) ingal; Nin-Gal*''Day of the Ghosts'' he Palace of Shattered Vessels, vol. 5(1986) om Ha-Refaʹim*''A Tammuz Nightʹs Dream'' he Palace of Shattered Vessels, vol. 6(1988) halom Leil Tammuz*''Nights of Lutetia'' he Palace of Shattered Vessels(1991) eilot Lutetzia*''On Candles and Winds'' he Palace of Shettered Vessels, vol. 7(1994) l Ha-Ner Ve-Al Ha-Ruach*''To the Mount of Olives'' (posthumously published fragment) (1998)

Translations into Hebrew

*''Selected Scandinavian Stories'' (1953) ivḥar Ha-Sipur ha-Skandinavi*''Selected Japanese Stories'' edited by Donald Keene (1957) ivḥar Ha-Sipur Ha-Yapani*''Napoleon's Letters'' edited by J. M. Thompson (196-?) ikhteve Napoleon*''Zen Wisdom'' (1971) okhmat Zen*''The Power and the Glory'' by Graham Greene (1991) a-Oz Veha-Tiferet

Books in English translation

*''News from Jerusalem: Stories'', trans. Dalya Bilu, et al. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973) *''The Palace of Shattered Vessels'', trans. Dalya Bilu (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975) ol. 1, ''Summer in the Street of the Prophets''*''His Majesty's Agent'', trans. Dalya Bilu (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980) *''The Palace of Shattered Vessels: Summer in the Street of the Prophets; and, A Voyage to Ur of the Chaldees'', trans. Dalya Bilu (New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988) ols. 1 and 2