In the last month of 2020, Russia announced the winners of the Big Book National Literary Prize for the best prose writers in the Russian language. The prize founded 15 years ago, has been awarded to renowned writers like Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Victor Pelevin, and Vladimir Sorokin.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
This year, first place – which comes with 3 million rubles (about $40,000) – went to a Russian-born Israeli, Alexander Ilichevsky of Jerusalem, for his novel "Newton's Drawing."
Ilichevsky might not be known to Hebrew readers, but in Russia he's a literary star, and over the past decade his books have consistently become bestsellers. He previously won second place in the Big Book prize for his novel "The Persian."
Ilichevsky was born in Soviet Azerbaijan in 1970. He studied physics at Moscow Physics and Technology Institute, and in the 1990s continued his studies in California and in Israel. He moved to Israel in 2013 and when not busy writing, works as a medical physicist in the radiotherapy departs of Hadassah Ein Karem Medical Center.
"I have to lead an extremely disciplined life in order to devote every free minute to writing," Ilichevsky tells Israel Hayom.
"It's not easy at all, but I've gotten used to it. I've been writing since I was 20, and since then I've more or less become skilled at splitting my time and my energies. One way is to go to bed early and get up early in order to write a few pages before the work day begins," he says.
Ilichevsky has published over 20 books in different genres – novels, short stories, and poetry. He is esteemed in Russian society as an intellectual, and his renown goes beyond the Big Book prize. He won the Russian Booker Prize for his novel "Matisse," and his work has been translated into multiple languages.
Q: How does that fame square with your near-total anonymity in Israel?
"The question of why Hebrew readers don't know me is interesting, but looking for an answer takes so long the question is no longer relevant for me. I'm not completely involved in the literary scene in Israel. I don't have time for public relations, I avoid social interactions. The number of people I know from the Israeli literary world can be counted on one hand."
Some might see the combination of a scientific career with literary work as odd, but for Ilichevsky, nothing could be more natural. Primarily because a new immigrant's need to make a living doesn't allow for any other option. Beyond that, a hospital is a microcosm of society, an endless treasure trove for anyone who cares to look into it, especially a writer.
"The hospital world is exciting, and I'm proud of having the privilege of being part of it, the privilege to advance science and help succor and heal," he says.
Ilichevsky says that a documentary film director recently reached out to a few producers about making a film about Russian-language writers in Israel. Their response was decisive – there was no need for it, because the subjects would be unknown to an Israeli audience.
"And that answer is exactly the reason why we aren't known," Ilichevsky jokes. He doesn't see any solution to the vicious circle of a lack of recognition, and merely mentions that he hasn't seen any interest by Israeli publishers in translating his books into Hebrew.
However, Ilichevsky's readers in Russia have gotten used to thinking of him as an Israeli writer. His last two novels both take place in Israel, and a short story collection scheduled to be published this year, is also based on his experiences here.
"I can't say that my writing is aimed at the non-Israeli readers," he explains. "I've been living in Israel for eight years, and that's long enough for literary work to need to draw on the reality around me. The question remains why Russian readers want to read about what happens in Israel remains open."
Ilichevsky has no illusions about the possibility of writing in Hebrew. "At age 50, I view my abilities in a sober light, and what's more, in a polyphonic society like Israel, translation shouldn't be a problem. It's a shame that for now, Israeli culture isn't interested enough in us to read us," he says.
The varied polyphonic society that Ilichevsky finds in Israel also appears in "Newton's Drawing." The book's protagonist is a physicist who is searching for the answer to a scientific problem (dark matter) while also searching for his lost father.
The search yields metaphysical principles that lead the protagonist on three journeys to the far corners of the world: to a mysterious cult in the Nevada desert, to an abandoned Soviet laboratory on snow-covered mountaintops in central Asia, and to Ilichevsky's beloved Jerusalem.
His next novel, also due out this year, also takes place in Israel and in Jerusalem. "I decided to call it 'Iceland,' but it doesn't refer to the land of the geysers, but to a quiet Jerusalem street of that name, near Hadassah Medical Center. The protagonist is a man who doesn't have an overabundance of money, but he needs a view to lift his spirits. I put him on Iceland St, which offers an amazing view of Ein Karem."
Ilichevsky's entire body of work is full of motifs from Jewish history and philosophy. He says that he has consciously addressed his Jewishness since he was 27, when he began reading the Bible, attending synagogue, and studying Jewish texts. "
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
"Since then, my Jewish education came together, and my Zionist outlook became much deeper, certainly in recent years after I made aliyah," he says. "In general, Jewish philosophy no doubt provides fertile ground for my world of references, for my literary worldview."
Q: Your work is deeply rooted in the Israeli experience, but at the same time is inaccessible to an Israeli audience.
"It turns out that's the case. I think that Israeli culture can't allow itself to ignore the creation happening in Russian and other languages. The existing ignoring [of them] reflects Israeli society's narcissism, which is more or less indifferent to most of what diverges from its own horizon, especially if that happens in a language other than English."
Q: Could it also be that not belonging to political cliques works against you?
"The current events' agenda of Israeli politics doesn't entice me, actually, and I'm far from having any tendency toward polarization, which characterized both Israeli culture and the world of politics. This is my contribution to reasonable thinking. There needs to be someone in this country who stays above the disputes and calls for solidarity and reconciliation between Jews."
