Meir Shalev

About is a new novel with the great title 'My Russian grandmother and her American vacuum cleaner': the true and unbelievable, funny and sad story of the special relationships between the author's grandmother and the vacuum cleaner (called and pronounced as a ‘sveeeeperr' in this book) her brother-in-law sent her from America. The ‘sveeeeperr' is a major persona in this story, both because of its sudden and miraculous appearance and because of its effect on the plot and the characters. Shalev uses this vacuum cleaner as a basis for his story about an entire family and its history. His gaze is loving, kind and sometimes admiring. It is also a tale of a family that loves words and good stories. The reader learns about Shalev's poetic and prosaic world. With this novel he has put together a delightful memoir.

Meir Shalev (1948, Israel), Israel's first moshav and is one of Israel's most celebrated novelists. His books have been translated into over 20 languages and have been bestsellers in Israel, Italy, Holland and Germany. Meir Shalev is also a columnist with the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. Shalev is the recipient of The Prime Minister's Prize (Israel), The Chiavari (Italy), The Juliet Club Prize (Italy), The Entholomogical Prize (Israel), The Wizo Prize in France, Israel and Italy, The Brenner Prize of 2006-- the highest Israeli literary recognition awarded for his last novel, The pigeon and the boy.