A new and remarkable novel by Gai Ad, “an accomplished author, who is paving her unique, authentic and brilliant literary path” (excerpt from the 2010 Prime Minister Prize Award statement), also known for her esteemed bestseller The Gauchmans
– longlisted for Sapir Prize 2013
On the day Vicky Manila leaves her parent’s home and moves to Tel Aviv with her young son, her presence incites souls and causes people to devote themselves to their emotions, a task which they usually prefer to avoid. But, the moment has come when it is impossible to hover above the puddles of pain; life defies this.
For over 52 days in Tel Aviv, which is portrayed as the city of refuge, the plot intermingles and tells an extraordinary story about human relations and self-deception.
2020 | 219 pp. | English translation available | Rights Sold: Hebrew
“Vicky Victoria deals with the daily magic of life, which is far from perfect or even whole. Ad knows how to lay all the puzzle-pieces of life one next to the other. She creates a fascinating and captivating picture with her heroes, who are all just simple people, each with his or her shortcomings. For all your lovers of realism and original literature, do yourself a favor and linger in a book store to look for this novel. You will thank me for it.” – Orit Harel, Talking Critiques
“Ad understands people and observes them well both from the inside and out. One of her heroes believes: ‘everyone has just one story to tell’, but she proves, almost as in Robert Altman’s exemplary movie Short Cuts, that even one such story can be told as if it were a thousand different ones. Each story is a priceless pearl in an attractive chain.” – Yaron Fried, Ma’ariv
“Vicky Victoria is a sensitive, benevolent novel that serves as a microcosm of the world.” – Rachel Faran, Books to be Read
Gai Ad is an Israeli prominent writer, known for her particular language and her unique way of rendering characters. She was born in Beersheva, the capital of the Negev desert, in the winter of 1963, and at the age of seventeen, following her father’s death, moved to Tel Aviv, where she still lives with her family today. In the 1990’s she lived in NYC and worked with Alzheimer’s patients, which was the basis for her first novel 7 Harimon St., winner of Israeli Prime minister prize. Her second novel, The Gauchmans, was longlisted for Sapir Prize 2013. Her third novel. Vicky Victoria, published in 2020, was shortlisted for Sapir Prize 2021.
In addition to her novels, Ad has published short stories collection and a book series for young adults. She currently works as an editor and a ghost writer.