Three from Jerusalem

Three from Jerusalem brings together an exceptional collection of previously unpublished short stories, reportages, and reflections by Arnošt Lustig, the internationally acclaimed writer, journalist, and humanist.

Arnošt Lustig (1926–2011) survived the horrors of the Holocaust as a young man – experiences that profoundly shaped his literary work. The short stories in this volume were written while he was working as a war correspondent during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948–1949. Alongside narratives set in Israel, the book also includes essays and reportage reflecting on the periods of the Holocaust and exile.

What unites all the texts is their focus on the inner lives and emotions of ordinary people living under extreme existential pressure. Lustig portrays his characters in both critical and everyday moments, always marked by hardship. His prose is accessible and deeply humane, combining dramatic intensity with clarity and restraint, free of pathos – a style that would become characteristic of his later work. In these texts, Lustig offers empathy and a timeless wisdom that remains strikingly relevant today.