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Writing In English Created Creative Distance
- Writing in English created necessary distance that let Omer Friedlander probe Israeli life with irony and make the familiar feel strange.
- He set all stories in Israel but used English to gain perspective unavailable when immersed there.
Sympathetic Listening Unearths Hidden Stories
- Friedlander quotes David Grossman about official stories versus the deeper stories found by a sympathetic listener.
- He aimed to unearth hidden individual narratives beneath fossilized political narratives about Israel.
Characters Reveal Themselves During Writing
- Friedlander describes his process as discovery rather than preplanning; characters reveal themselves during writing.
- He aligns with Zadie Smith's 'micromanager' idea: he doesn't outline novels fully and lets surprises drive the work.