EDITOR’S CHOICE
A powerful, moving novel that masterfully weaves history, trauma, and humanity into a compelling story of love and resilience.
Set in the politically volatile landscape of 1989 Israel during the first intifada, Ash on the Vine offers a complex and haunting tale that threads personal memory with generational trauma. Michelle Shine paints a vivid portrait of three generations of Holocaust survivors working a vineyard in the foothills of Mt Carmel—an idyllic setting shadowed by past horrors and current unrest.
The novel follows Sami, a young woman who, on her 20th birthday, returns home seeking answers about her family’s buried history. Her grandmother’s recollections of the Holocaust serve not only as a catalyst for Sami’s personal awakening but also as the opening of a much larger narrative. Her chance meeting with Gideon, a philosophy PhD student exploring intergenerational trauma, quickly escalates events beyond their control when a conversation is overheard and recorded by Rahima at a Palestinian-owned hotel.
Shine’s writing is richly layered, exploring not only the emotional scars of survival but also the humanity that persists amidst hatred. The narrative bravely crosses the divide between Israeli and Palestinian lives, refusing to reduce either side to stereotype. The tension simmers with every page, culminating in moments of both tenderness and terror.
While some transitions feel abrupt and certain characters could be more deeply developed, the novel’s heart lies in its emotional honesty and the way it grapples with inherited pain. Ash on the Vine is a poignant, thoughtful read—unafraid to look into the past to understand the fragile present.
