Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Her published works, available on Amazon, include:
The Goldfinch by Donna Tratt; Little, Brown; © 2013 By Dorothea Shefer MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I finished ploughing through this tome and had to immediately go back and read the first few pages, as the book starts by plunging the reader into a strange, surrealistic almost nightmarish scenario of a person (man? woman?) constrained […]
A novel both brilliant and tedious Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
Chasing Dreams and Flies: A Tragicomedy of Life in France by Dorothea Shefer-Vanson; © 2016, books on Kindle; 253 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and writer whose freelance stories are regularly published by San Diego Jewish World, among other publications. Normally she and her husband Yigal reside in
Novel tells of British expats in rural France Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — So now the Palestinians are saying that the concept of any historical connection between the Jews and Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount in particular, is pure myth, and they are trying to get UNESCO to adopt a resolution to that effect. I wonder what would happen if they
Jewish historic connection to Jerusalem undeniable Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson LEWES, England–I’d often heard about Glyndebourne, the country estate where operas are presented at a very high artistic standard, but never dreamed I would actually be able to attend a performance myself. It wasn’t even quite clear to me where it was, somewhere out in the country outside London. It sounded like
A visit to Glyndebourne Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson LONDON, England –Proms? What Proms? Anyone looking for an uplifting musical experience should steer clear of the famous Prom concerts in London’s Albert Hall. The hall itself is enormous and impressive, seating several thousands at a time. In addition, especially cheap tickets are sold as standing room only in the center of the
Bad behavior at a London concert Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson LONDON, England — Our summer across the channel in Limousin, France, concluded with a short stay farther south, at a Gite in the countryside near the picturesque village of Montcuq. Finding the place called Mondaunet put our GPS under a lot of pressure, as the name did not feature in its database, but eventually,
Fiddling (on the roof) around in France Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France — I consider myself to be something of a purist when it comes to the English language, which is hardly surprising since I’ve spent most of my adult life working as a translator/editor/writer. I try to avoid profanities, and will rarely even press ‘Like’ for Facebook items that use them. However, every
Terrorists are nothing but bloody barbarians Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France — A book entitled A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss (published by Ballantine Books, New York, 2000) recently came into my hands by chance. The main subject – intrigues, violence and even murder in connection with trading on the stock exchange in early eighteenth-century England – is not one that would
Two novels about Jews in England Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Life is full of strange coincidences. I first encountered the story of Charlotte Salomon about twenty years ago, when an exhibition of her work, a series of paintings with captions describing her life and entitled Life? Or Theatre? was held at the Royal Academy in London. It made
Artist Charlotte Salomon’s life told in free verse Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It was inevitable, yet no-one saw it coming. Everyone was in denial, hoping against hope that common sense would prevail. But it didn’t, and here we are, over a week after the referendum, trying to work out what’s going to happen now that Brexit’s here. At an informal
Brexit and its rocky aftermath Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–Whether it was by coincidence or not, the supplement that came with the Ha’aretz newspaper last weekend contained a long article about – and interview with – Professor Telma Handler, a psychiatrist, psychologist and international expert on the brain whose most recent research has focused on the mechanism of empathy.
Tel Aviv, Orlando, Birstall, Magnanville … Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, USA
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The sudden collapse of bookshelves in Yigal’s study, fortunately without injury to life or limb, set in train a course of events (new bookcases in every room) that enabled a thorough sifting-through of books and other items collected in the course of some fifty years. One of the most
German Jewish doctor brought health care to desert Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–Over ten years ago I was asked by the then editor of the AJR Journal to write a monthly column about life in Israel. There was no reference to my political views or any of the many current events which overtake us on a weekly, daily and even hourly basis.
There’s far more to Israeli life than conflict Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastA Second Daniel; A Tudor Intrigue by Neal Roberts; Booktrope, Seattle By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I was drawn to the title of this book which appeared on a list of books that could be downloaded, and seized the opportunity to read it on my Kindle as I recognized the quote from The
The trial that may have influenced the Bard Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson