Lion’s Honey

“Original and very clever.” The Times

“The story strikes numerous sparks in Israeli history, and one of the pleasures of the book is where he locates the precise settings of the biblical narrative in Israel and Palestine.” Independent

“What he does is to deal with an old, neglected text in a way that rekindles interest in and fascination for it.” Spectator

“His tone is both informal and didactic, the result both enriching and entertaining.” TLS

In Lion’s Honey, award-winning writer David Grossman takes on one of the most vivid and controversial characters in the Bible. Revisiting Samson’s famous battle with the lion, his many women and his betrayal by them all — including the only one he ever loved — Grossman gives us a provocative new take on the story and its climax, Samson’s final act of death, bringing down a temple on himself and three thousand Philistines.

In exhilarating and lucid prose, Grossman reveals the journey of a single, lonely and tortured soul who never found a true home in the world, who was uncomfortable in his very body and who, some might say, was the precursor of today’s suicide bombers.

Translated by Stuart Schoffman.

David Grossman by Dan PorgesDavid Grossman is a leading Israeli writer of his generation and his work has been translated into 25 languages. He is the author of six internationally acclaimed novels and a number of children’s books. Grossman has been presented with numerous awards including Chevalier de l’Ordre des Artes et des Lettres (France). He lives with his wife and children in a suburb of Jerusalem.

Stuart Schoffman is an award-winning journalist who has worked as a staff writer for Time and as a screenwriter in Hollywood and Israel, as well as teaching film at USC and Tel Aviv University. He is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He holds degrees in history from Harvard and Yale and is on the Board of Overseers of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.

  1. Spencer (February 26, 2008 at 9:40 pm) :

    I am really enjoying this book! It’s not like the others in this series, which have been retellings or re-imaginings, but rather this one is more like a deconstruction, an essay or a lecture (but not in a bad way – it’s very engaging). I really like how Grossman looks at each line of the story from so many different angles. It’s a really nice examination.

  2. Dream Angus (June 12, 2009 at 9:02 am) :

    [...] David Grossman Lion’s Honey [...]

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