The World Between - a once-famous theater actress reflects on her past and her trauma.

This haunting tale begins in 1998. A sixty-seven-year-old former star of the Yiddish theater is at the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition Hospice in Jaffa, in their sanitorium. The unnamed woman had traveled from New York City to Israel to visit, along with her lifelong friend Rothman, the apartment she had shared with her husband Max, who was the author of her plays. Through sessions with her doctor and her deep reflections, her story unfolds. We discover that she has endured unimaginable hardships, having survived the Holocaust, a Siberian Gulag, and the loss of nearly everyone she loved. The story shifts across several timelines as she recalls the ghosts of her past. 

Zeeva Bekai's compelling book, The World Between, is about a woman who is unable to come to terms with her past. A challenging marriage, an unrequited love, and all her loses have led her to her current state. At 150 pages, it's a short yet powerful and unsettling story.

Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.

Historical Fiction.

Publication Date: February 24, 2026.

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