Dr. Eran Viezel has won ACUM’s Aharon Ashman Prize for Creative Writing Submitted Anonymously in the Field of Literature 2015 for his novel “In Praise of Loneliness.”
The judges wrote: ““In Praise of Loneliness” is a dark version, highly original, of the well-known tale – both in literature and film – of the reluctant hero, who lands in trouble and has adventures because of a case of mistaken identity, one wrong step or being in the wrong place at the wrong time (in this story, all three occur). However, here the hero is really an anti-hero, a “problematic” character from several aspects that are revealed as the plot, full of ups and downs, progresses, which seems sometimes like a terrifying takeover by his subconscious of his history. The choice to give such a dubious hero the role of narrator is a sophisticated one which requires mastery of the art of the story, and forces the readers on guard and to transition from empathy to suspicion continuously. The same skill is also apparent in the style, which integrates spare writing with flickering prophetic lyrics that do not lessen the tension, but rather charges it with ripening tension that deepens the reading experience. It is a journey about vacuum, impersonation, and losing control in the guise of an action adventure story, a book that is hard to put down and which does not lessen its grip on its readers after they have finished reading it.”The prize is NIS 15,000.
ACUM is a non-profit corporation administering the rights assigned to it by its members: authors, composers, lyricists, poets, arrangers and music publishers.Founded in in 1936 by a small group of leading authors and composers, ACUM now has 8,700 members, creators and publishers.
Viezel is a senior lecturer in the Department of Bible, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Born on Kibbutz Netiv Halamed He, he lives there today with his wife, also born on the kibbutz, and their four children.
In addition to his novel, Viezel is the author of The Commentary on Chronicles Attributed to Rashi.
He is a recipient of the Council for Higher Education’s Yigal Alon Award.
