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Parting Gift
Parting Gift | Evan Fallenberg
6 posts | 6 read | 13 to read
"An unabashed tale that does not pull punches and looks at love's underside...This breathless story should only be read in one sitting. It hits hard and never lets up. Terse, brusque, etched on one's inner thigh with an old serrated knife." --Andr Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name This erotic tale of jealousy, obsession, and revenge is suffused with the rich flavors and intoxicating scents of Israel's Mediterranean coast. An unnamed narrator writes a letter to an old college friend, Adam, with whom he has been staying since his abrupt return to the States from Israel. Now that the narrator is moving on to a new location, he finally reveals the events that led him to Adam's door, set in motion by a chance encounter with Uzi, a spice merchant whose wares had developed a cult following. From his first meeting with Uzi, the narrator is overwhelmed by an animal attraction that will lead him to derail his life, withdraw from friends and extend his stay in a small town north of Tel Aviv. As he becomes increasingly entangled in Uzi's life--and by extension the lives of Uzi's ex-wife and children--his passion turns sinister, ultimately threatening all around him. Written in a circuitous style that keeps you guessing until the end, The Parting Gift is a page-turner and a shrewd exploration of the roles men assume, or are forced to assume, as lovers, as fathers, as Israelis, as Palestinians.
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Cinfhen
The Parting Gift: A Novel | Evan Fallenberg
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Pickpick

WTF?? I feel like I missed something/ @Reggie first put this book on my radar 2 years ago & yesterday it showed up on my #Scribd feed. Told in letter form, by an unnamed narrator we are given the circumstances of what drove the young narrator to flee Israel & seek refuge in his friend Adam‘s US home. Shifty and dark, it‘s hard to root for our narrator whose actions are questionable 🤨 I think I liked this book but I hesitate to recommend it!

Reggie It totally falls off the rails in the last two pages and if I‘m being honest paints gay people as homewrecking mentally unstable promiscuous boogeymen. But I really loved the writing. I think the author must have had a run in with an evil gay maybe? And just had to let it all out. There are some books that I give picks to but have reservations about certain aspects. But the writing! Lol Idk. 4y
Cinfhen Your comments are so ON POINT!!! Hilarious 😂 I TOTALLY agree.... the author DEFINITELY had some crazy vendetta to exercise!! The author also spent some time around “macho” Israeli men because Uzi was the real deal. Also props to the narrator for his superb Israeli accent @Reggie (edited) 4y
80 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
mauveandrosysky
The Parting Gift: A Novel | Evan Fallenberg
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Pickpick

Like a bitter, vengeful version of Call Me By Your Name, this tight novel provides a claustrophobic account of the narrator‘s passionate, obsessive, erotic relationship. He‘s the ultimate unreliable narrator, and it‘s fascinating the way he distorts his recollection of events, intent on painting himself as the “good guy” in his own story as his actions become increasingly troubling.

LeahBergen Great review. Stacked! 6y
BooksForEmpathy Your review reminds me of The Sense of an Ending. 6y
mauveandrosysky @BooksForEmpathy I can totally see the similarities! I think you‘d like this. (I still owe you an email, hoping to finally write back soooon! 🖤) 6y
BarbaraBB Excellent review 💜 6y
29 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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thatbookboi
The Parting Gift: A Novel | Evan Fallenberg
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Pickpick

For the lovers of Call Me By Your Name, this book is an equally intense look into a single character‘s psyche and portrayal of the mind games we play with the ones we love.

Reggie I loved this up until the last 2 pages. I was wondering the whole time why he‘s writing this huge story to that guy. And then we know and all I heard was the tuba sound from The Price is Right. Lol up until then, awesome. 6y
8 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Reggie
The Parting Gift: A Novel | Evan Fallenberg
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Pickpick

Whatt????!!!!! This book was great. An epistolary novel written by an unnamed narrator who leaves America after an undescribed event and flees to Israel where upon an outing at a spice farm, he meets Uzi, the type of man who makes him tell his friends when they say they are ready to go that he is staying. He and Uzi, exhusband to 2 women and father of 5, start this torrid affair. I really like this book. It had erotic heat, a lot to say about 👇🏼

Reggie roles in a relationship, but then it takes this turn into hell hath no fury like a lover scorned and runs off the rails a bit for me in the last 2 pages. It‘s still a pick for some lovely writing and just keeping me on the edge of my seat. 6y
Cinfhen Um... yes, please!! #stacked How did u find this book??? 6y
Reggie @Cinfhen I‘m glad you asked....because @OtherPress joined Litsy a few weeks back and liked a review I did for one of their books I did like a year ago, and they posted about other books they put out so I picked this one up off of one of those posts. So good job @OtherPress, you can show them this and say Litsy works. #blameitonlitsy 6y
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OtherPress @Reggie @Cinfhen #oopsie 🤷🏻‍♀️ 6y
Cinfhen Yay! Welcome @OtherPress this book sounds perfect for my bookclub!! Thanks for posting & sharing ❤️ 6y
OtherPress @Cinfhen thanks! #Litsy is so much fun we love it😍😘!And of course, let us know how the book club discussion goes, and if there is any questions you‘d like the author to answer we will pass it on to him 😁 6y
Cinfhen That‘s fabulous @OtherPress I will let the ladies know!! 6y
Cathythoughts Great review & good to know @OtherPress sounds cool ... I‘m excited to follow them 👍🏻 6y
CarolynM @Reggie @Cinfhen @Cathythoughts This book sounds really interesting. Stacked. I'm jumping on the @OtherPress bandwagon too🙂 6y
54 likes3 stack adds9 comments
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Reggie
Parting Gift | Evan Fallenberg
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Hunh. Last night his arms were parenthetical around his wife, a great secret phrase. Now tonight, this. Who knew I‘d be into punctuational-body metaphor?

Lindy 🤔 6y
TrishB Well..... 6y
Ms_T 😲 6y
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SandyW Hah... Although I often feel this way about my husband when he's sitting in front of his laptop! 6y
Reggie @SandyW lol, that‘s what the guy who he is writing about is doing, working at his computer. (edited) 6y
minkyb Quite the passage! 6y
45 likes6 comments
review
OtherPress
Parting Gift | Evan Fallenberg
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Pickpick

“An unabashed tale that does not pull punches and looks at love‘s underside…This breathless story should only be read in one sitting. It hits hard and never lets up. Terse, brusque, etched on one‘s inner thigh with an old serrated knife.” —André Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name

Reggie Welcome to Litsy!!!! 6y
OtherPress Thanks @Reggie 🤗 6y
Updrifting Is that cover embossed? It looks so cool! 6y
8 likes1 stack add3 comments