A woman in her forties is a victim of a suicide bombing at a Jerusalem market. Her body lies nameless in a hospital morgue. She had apparently worked as a cleaning woman at a bakery, but there is no record of her employment. When a Jerusalem daily accuses the bakery of "gross negligence and inhumanity toward an employee," the bakery’s owner, overwhelmed by guilt, entrusts the task of identifying and burying the victim to a human resources man. This man is at first reluctant to take on the job, but as the facts of the woman’s life take shape—she was an engineer from the former Soviet Union, a non-Jew on a religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and, judging by an early photograph, beautiful—he yields to feelings of regret, atonement, and even love.

At once profoundly serious and highly entertaining, A. B. Yehoshua astonishes us with his masterly, often unexpected turns in the story and with his ability to get under the skin and into the soul of Israel today.

Suggested Book Club Questions for A Woman in Jerusalem (Fiction)

The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on A Woman in Jerusalem:

• Did A. B. Yehoshua emphasize any specific themes throughout A Woman in Jerusalem? What do you think A. B. Yehoshua is trying to explain with this theme?
• What was unique about the setting of A Woman in Jerusalem and how did it affect the storyline?
• Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
• How do characters change or learn throughout A Woman in Jerusalem? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
• How does A Woman in Jerusalem reveal A. B. Yehoshua's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think A. B. Yehoshua is liberal or conservative.
• Did certain parts of A Woman in Jerusalem affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
• Did A. B. Yehoshua's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?

Suggested Book Club Questions for A Woman in Jerusalem (Non-fiction)

The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on A Woman in Jerusalem:

• Did A. B. Yehoshua make persuasive arguments in A Woman in Jerusalem? Did A Woman in Jerusalem change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
• What did you learn from A Woman in Jerusalem?
• How does A. B. Yehoshua present the information and did you enjoy it?
• How is A. B. Yehoshua biased within A Woman in Jerusalem? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
• What, if anything, does A Woman in Jerusalem make you want to read next? Why?