Love and Other Enchantments - by Masha Zur-Glozman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Idit, a polyglot and literary translator, falls in love with Halimi, a magnetic and philandering magazine editor. Idit, who cannot handle his indiscretions, proposes an open marriage to try and save what they've built. In the midst of a full-blown marital crisis, they take their daughter Lily and leave Tel Aviv, moving to the small seaside town of Atlit. One hot day while on a walk, Idit stumbles upon an ancient spring near the ruins of a Crusader fortress. When she bends down to drink the cool water, an old, found copper coin that she wears as a pendant dips into the spring--and suddenly she is thrust back in time--right into the arms of Jean D'Ibelin, a handsome French Crusader knight.
She's traveled to the year 1240, the year of one of the most successful crusades in history. The noble Sir Jean--with his chiseled face and amber eyes--becomes entranced by Idit, the exotic visitor from the future. As her relationship with Sir Jean starts to deepen, Idit begins to regularly visit the distant past. Their delicate affair unfolds in parallel with the story of her relationship with Halimi, with whom she shares a beloved daughter, Lily. In the end, Idit must decide what love means to her.

Review Quotes

"A wildly compelling debut [that] had me captive from page one. Her prose is magnetically clear, balancing the thrill of a time-slipped adventure with the authenticity of modern family life--and the result is utterly believable. This is a novel that is at once light on its surface, yet profoundly serious about the things that matter most. A literary achievement in its first flight--and a reading experience you'll carry with you long after the final page."--Atara Ofek, Hamitlahevet (The Enthusiast) blog

"Remarkably immersive--a rare blend of emotional depth, meticulous research, and a seamless shift from the natural to the supernatural. Idit and Halimi are compelling, multifaceted protagonists. . . . Intelligent, introspective, and rooted in a vivid sense of place, the novel avoids genre clichés and offers richly detailed medieval landscapes--languages, customs, characters, and textures--crafted with precision. A truly singular and captivating work."--Tzippy Gurion, Mako

"Sharp and mischievous. . . . At its heart lies the understanding that every love story is, in some way, a kind of fairy tale: a thrill that exists alongside reality and sometimes clashes with it. Moving gracefully across three intertwined timelines--contemporary Atlit, medieval Château Pèlerin, and the Tel Aviv of Idit and Halimi's past--the novel explores the space between desire and routine, magic and daily truth. With meticulous historical detail, poetic imagination, and a subtle meta-literary touch, the book is a singular, resonant work that feels both intimate and sweeping, local and universal."--Ayal Hayut-man, Speculation magazine

About the Author

Masha Zur-Glozman is a writer, filmmaker, graphic designer, and journalist based in Tel Aviv. She is the visual editor for Israeli newspaper Haaretz's website, after writing and editing for their cultural supplement for a decade. Zur-Glozman was also a book critic for more than fifteen years for Haaretz and various Israeli newspapers. This novel, her debut, won the Israeli Geffen prize of speculative fiction in 2020 and the Ministry of Culture prize for debuts. With her husband, Yonatan, Zur-Glozman produced two documentary films: Amos Oz: The Nature of Dreams and Magia Russica, which were screened in multiple festivals around the globe and broadcasted internationally.