Under the Same Sky
A Novel of Love, War, Exile, and the Children Caught Between Worlds
From the embers of a pogrom in Odessa to the sun-soaked hills of Palestine, Under the Same Sky is a sweeping historical novel tracing the tangled destinies of two families-one Jewish, one Arab-whose lives collide through love, loss, and war.
Escaping death in Odessa, Mika arrives in 1919 to Jaffa carrying nothing but a suitcase of dreams and the weight of the past, only to realize that, even in his Promised Land, hatred and violence were part of the daily life.
He builds a life in Petah Tikva, but must run away to kibbutz of Kiryat Anavim, forging uneasy friendships with the neighboring Arab village of Abu Ghosh-including Aisha, whose fate becomes forever entwined with his.
But as tensions rise, communities fracture. The Arab riots leave blood on the soil and scars on the soul, and breaks havoc in the hearts of Mika and Aisha.
A generation later, their sons come of age during the 1948 war-each pulled between loyalty and love, between history and hope. Rami and Tawfiq, twin sons of Aisha, stand on opposite sides of the battlefield. Avi and Tamir, Mika's boys, struggle to hold a family together as the land beneath them erupts.
Spanning three decades of heartbreak and healing, Under the Same Sky is an intimate, sweeping novel of ordinary people caught in a land divided by contradicting narratives, and the extraordinary people--on both sides--who long to heal and bring peace.
About the Author :
The AuthorJack Leman was born into a Jewish family in Istanbul, a city whose rich cultural heritage continues to influence his perspective. He later moved to Switzerland, where he completed his education and earned a degree in chemical engineering. His career led him across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including several years in Beijing developing his own business. Today, he divides his time between Istanbul and Switzerland. Drawing on a lifetime of international experience and his Jewish heritage, he writes stories that explore identity, distance, and belonging. These themes are reflected in his novel, Under the Same Sky. He is the father of three daughters and a proud grandfather of two and is now working on his next novel.
