The Way To The Cats

"Yolanda Moscowitz is the heroine of this remarkable novel - a seventy-six year old retired school teacher who is suddenly crippled by a fall and finds herself recuperating in a Tel Aviv home for the aged. There she is surrounded by a rich carnival of characters: the uncaring head nurse ("Satana"), a harsh disciplinarian who is Yolanda's nemesis; Leon, the oily orderly who flirts with Yolanda, hints at the possibility of a sexual liaison, and connives to get her money; Adela, the masseuse who is more interested in Yolanda's property than her body; innocent Allegra, who performs menial tasks for Yolanda and whose girlish body is diseased from within; Kagan, the Russian-born, alcoholic artist whose legs have been crushed by a bus and who romances Yolanda with French poetry; and Wolfe, the religious widower who, through rotting teeth, begs Yolanda to marry him so that he may rid himself of the prurient erotic fantasies which torment him." "Yolanda struggles to maintain her dignity and her affection among these seducers, betrayers, fake healers, shysters, would-be lovers - a Fellini-like pageantry. Feeling trapped in her new community, she also feels a certain safety. Still, she dreams of returning to the peace of her city apartment, at the same time fearing her dream might come true. And when it does...." "Like Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, Kenaz's old age home offers an entire society within a single unique location, a world of its own that awaits us all. And with a keen eye and broad vision, Kenaz shows the inner-workings of aging - its daily battles, its follies, its despairs, its small victories and surprising humors. It is a world at once painful, beautiful, and memorable - vividly memorable."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved