Israel’s celebrated author David Grossman author returned to Jewish Book Week to discuss Falling Out of Time, an exploration of parental bereavement, with fellow writer Ian McEwan.

In a small village, in a kitchen, a man announces to his wife that he is leaving, embarking on a journey in search of their dead son. The “Walking Man” paces in ever-widening circles around the town. One after another, all manner of townsfolk fall into step with him – the Net Mender, the Midwife, the Elderly Maths Teacher, even the Duke – each enduring his or her own loss.
Employing a new, genre-defying form, Grossman raises questions about the nature of grief and mourning and demonstrates, once again, his rare gift of storytelling, a realm where loss is not merely an absence but a life force of its own.