Hi all, I posted about what I thought was a short story paralleling the plot of a recent film, but the sleuthing by Pat Fenton, Library Director at AJU, was successful, because she was also certain that it sounded familiar.
It was a side plot about a woman named Raymonde, within the book, "The Liar" by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, and I will post a bit from a JBC review which explains the similarities: Seventeen-year-old Nofar’s lie erupts on a seemingly humdrum day in her town’s local ice cream shop where she works. Two generations her senior, Raymonde’s lie is born when she receives a call meant for a recently deceased friend. These two separate instances of deceit bind together a story about the consequences of untruths in Ayelet Gundar-Goshen’s new book, The Liar. Raymonde’s story starts innocently enough when she takes a phone call meant for a friend who has recently died. The call is to enquire about a trip for Holocaust survivors from the retirement home where Raymonde lives in Israel to visit Poland. Raymonde, whose closeness to her friend is not limited by their similar features, agrees to go — using her friend’s identity. What starts as a vacation soon turns into something far more unsettling as her lie begins to exploit the tragedy of her friend’s time spent in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. She begins to have feelings for a man she meets at a meeting for Theresienstadt survivors, which complicates an already messy situation. In Poland, Raymonde meets Nofar thus tying their destinies together. Thanks to everyone who emailed me with suggestions! Lisa Silverman Retired director, Sperber Jewish Community Library ________________________________ From: Hasafran <[email protected]> on behalf of Lisa Silverman via Hasafran <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2025 4:29 PM To: Hasafran <[email protected]> Subject: [ha-Safran] Need help with remembering a short story Hello Safranim, I just read a review of Scarlett Johannsen's directorial debut film, "Eleanor the Great" and it struck me that the screenplay sounded like a short story I read years ago, but I don't have a memory of where I read it Hello Safranim, I just read a review of Scarlett Johannsen's directorial debut film, "Eleanor the Great" and it struck me that the screenplay sounded like a short story I read years ago, but I don't have a memory of where I read it or who wrote it. The movie lists the writer as sole author. The plot of the short story is that two elderly ladies are friends, and one dies and leaves the other lonely and bereft and the deceased one was a survivor who told her story often. So the remaining lady takes on the story as if it is hers in order to make friends and also keep the stories of her friend alive for others. I am pretty sure it took place in Israel, and I think the woman ends up actually going to Auschwitz to speak at a ceremony there and then gets discovered as a fraud. Maybe it was a film? If this rings a bell for anyone, let me know! (By the way, ChatGPT is no help on this one...) Lisa Silverman Retired director, Sperber Jewish Community Library
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.osu.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.osu.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list [email protected] https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
