How a war lead me to the kindest person on the Internet

And a review of her book

Hearing about murder of six young hostages after 322 days in captivity In Gaza is devastating. It’s complicated and intense and it doesn’t mean that I have not felt grief and despair for every Palestinian person killed or injured. My heart is big enough to hold both sides. But this feeling I am experiencing right now takes me right back to October when Hamas first attacked Israel and I felt like the earth had split open and I was pulled into a frightening abyss of darkness.

I understand anger, I understand fury at war and murder, I don’t understand how hating another race/religion/country does anything to bring peace.  The initial attacks happened just after the Voice Referendum in Australia and I wondered how so many people couldn’t see that even if they had voted yes, their country had voted no. We are not all supporters of every move our governments make. Just like the Jews/Israelis are not supporters of every move the Israeli government makes. I thought we were all against terrorism…

I was ‘safe’ in Sydney, I wasn’t at risk of being bombed or kidnapped or killed but social media became very scary. Anti-semitism reared its head and invaded the psyche of every Jewish person I know.  It really felt like the whole world hated us simply because we were Jewish.

But I continued to check in to Instagram and tiny shafts of light started making their way through the darkness. In fact, a woman the world wants to believe is my enemy because she is an Arab and I am Jewish, reached out to me and literally brought the light. It turns out we are on the same side - that of humanity and peace and compassion for all people, regardless of where they were born or what religion they practice.

I am not ashamed to say that I developed a bit of a crush on Tess Woods, a crush that borders on the insane because we have never actually met but we now message each other like we are the best of friends. She introduced me to her publisher (who was lovely and kind about my manuscript without wanting to publish it) and she checked in with me all through the waiting time. She has been generous, supportive and loving (and very funny and wise) and every time I see anyone comment on her posts I can see they love her too - her beauty and humanity is universal. 

At the time we started talking Tess had just completed her novel The Venice Hotel and after reading all her messages I was desperate to read her book. It is exactly the genre and type of book I would choose to read even if I don’t have a crush on the author.

Because Tess is Tess she organised for me to get an early copy of the book and I started to feel a tiny bit of apprehension. What if I loved Tess but I hated the book? What if she was really good at writing WhatsApp messages but not novels? What if I couldn’t read the book because I can’t finish books I don’t like?

My fears were in vain. I did not like this book I LOVED it. I had to stop myself from messaging her every three minutes to tell her how much I was falling in love with each character (except one - you’ll read it and you will know exactly who I mean).

The Venice Hotel is a book about the lives of four very different woman who come together at a hotel in Venice . It unravels the secrets of these women in a way that makes you feel like you know them, like you are right with them bearing witness to their stories, holding them close in your heart.  But it is far more than that - it offers an insightful and compelling look at life in Venice, at tourism and climate change. It makes you think about religion and faith, addiction and domestic violence, parenting, family and acceptance of the people you love.  It’s a magnificent book about people, relationships and a city that is drowning.

I am in awe of Tess’s storytelling ability and the world she has created in this book. It is masterfully created and I feel a little bit sad that I have already finished reading it but delighted that I get to keep these characters in my heart.

It’s a strong recommendation from me - both The Venice Hotel and Tess herself.

And while I’m recommending things, let me take the opportunity to recommend kindness, empathy and understanding especially when talking about a devastating war.