Molcho's wife died at the beginning of autumn. The novel follows, over the course of a year, the process of his liberation from her and his struggle with her, a process that also has a deep identification with her. The death of his wife releases a spring in him that sends him far away from alienation, but also leads to the birth of a new sense of freedom. And yet, during the liberation he is led by remote control by the relationship with his wife. He draws from death pain, both reality and vitality, and his failed attempts to revive his wife with women who replace her are also attempts to "resurrect" and grasp his own roots. Orpheus splits in two here. Molcho, a passive man who observes the world through bifocal glasses, finds himself in a constant duality of fear and longing, pain and joy, mixing excitement and guilt. Yehoshua presented here one of the unforgettable characters in Hebrew literature, in a multi-faceted novel that is hard to put down. In a poll conducted by Ma'ariv newspaper (June 2007) among leading literary figures - critics, editors, publishers and literary researchers - "Molcho" was chosen among the ten "best prose books written in Hebrew for the state".
