Two women, two wars : the migrant, Ruth, is a vibrant Israeli writer who grew up amid gunfire and grenades, while her new friend, Barbara, lives and paints quietly in her quiet Australian city with her husband, the musician Heath. Ruth enters their orbit just as Barbie’s surging resentment erupts. She withdraws marital sex; waging her own war on a life she sees as subservient and controlled. Ruth is drawn in to fill the growing rift, but sociable lunches and cosy picnics falter and ugly secrets rip open the bonds of friendship.
Is Barbara’s future in ruins? Turning for inspiration to her admired models, the early Australian women painters, Barbie faces the challenging road to freedom and the strength to believe in herself.
A book about music, painting, friendship and forgiveness, ‘Leaving Gaza’ suggests the surprising gifts that a crisis in life can uncover
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