On Tonia’s last day of work before her wedding, Mr. Greenblatt
called everyone together and opened a bottle of cooking wine.
Tonia had not told him she would soon open her own restaurant
and steal his three best workers. She raised her wine glass to
them all, took a small sip, hung up her apron for the last time,
and smiled as she strode through the front door of the restaurant
and out into the sun.
      She froze when she saw a familiar, beaten-up car parked
across the street. Amos sat in it, staring straight at her, and her
knees grew weak. She pretended not to notice him and marched
up the street.
      The car pulled up beside her, and the passenger door flew
open. ‘Get in,’ he ordered.
      She stopped, paralyzed and feeling sick.
      ‘Get in the car,’ he repeated.
      She saw the rage in his eyes and obeyed. He drove off with
a roar, and neither of them spoke. Tonia kept her eyes straight
ahead, wishing this pointless encounter were over. When she
did turn to look at him, she felt the familiar longing to move
close, to seek the warmth and comfort of him – and faced the
realization that now he would disappear from her life. For ever.
Even his friendship would be lost to her. The tantalizing possibility
of Amos would no longer flicker in the corners of her
mind. She would never see him again. The magnitude of this
loss stunned her.
      Amos parked near the beach and got out. He slammed the
door without looking at her, took a few steps, and turned to sit
on a large boulder. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets,
his shoulders hunched. The sun was still high in the sky.
How could it be such a beautiful day? She got out of the car and
reached back to gather her hair, keep it from whipping about
her face in the warm breeze. Gulls cawed overhead, and Tonia
stood still. She stared at Amos for a long while, as if burning
his image into her brain might ease the pain. She didn’t want
to forget him, his eyes, his long legs, the way he smiled at her.
She felt tears rising, but knew she had no right to them. She
swallowed and looked out at the sunlight glinting off the sea.
Nonsense. No need for such melodrama. They weren’t meant
for each other. She had to live her own life. He would be better
off without her.
      She slowly approached him. ‘Amos?’ Her voice was small,
pleading. She felt as if she should be on her knees.
      ‘Why?’ It was more a cry than a question.
      ‘Amos …’
      ‘I want to know why!’
      ‘Must I account to you as well?’
      ‘Yes. To me, most of all!’
      ‘I think you know why,’ she said.
      He began to pace.
      ‘If I thought … if you could tell me you have real feelings
for him … and not for me … but … what is it? For money?
You’re selling yourself so that you can open a lousy little restaurant?
Don’t you think I would have found some way to get you
the money?’
      ‘I couldn’t take money from you, Amos,’ she said.
      ‘God in heaven! “I couldn’t take money from you, Amos”,’
he mimicked her. ‘What the hell is that about, Tonia? You can’t
take money from me, but you can make yourself a whore to–’
      ‘Amos!’
      He raised a hand, and she thought he was going to strike her.
She stood passively waiting, would have almost welcomed the
blow. It would be easier if she could feel anger for him, rather
than disgust for herself. But he lowered his hand.
      ‘You could get a better price for yourself on the street. And
with a great deal more integrity.’
      She felt herself go cold. ‘Goodbye, Amos.’ She walked
away.
      ‘I hope – I truly hope – that you have the life you deserve,’
Amos called after her.

 

To order the book just click on the order link on this page.

 

Read more:

 

'The author’s writing style is excellent, it flows well and tells the story in such a way that it is immediately interesting.'

 

'…Yael Politis is an excellent author who really knows how to make a story readable, this is a book that everyone should read at some point.'

 

From the review on Curious Book Fans

 

'Politis’ style is restrained, economical and mostly understated. She is a remarkably unobtrusive author. I believe that you will find not a single dull paragraph in this entire work. It is a gripping insight into the psyche of several different kinds of person, a vivid account of the forces that drive both human idealism and human destructiveness.'

 

From the review in the next issue of Gold Dust magazine.

 

'It is also a story about the importance of family that is, ... a badly needed reminder in our increasingly secular, disconnected world.'

 

'... it is the story of a group of people who hate war and take up the sword only because their Arab neighbors refuse to let them live in peace, and a reminder that the most powerful weapon Israel has, is hope.'

From the review on Aaron Hecht's blog.

 

'The Lonely Tree, movingly written by rising author Yael Politis, is an important contribution to Jewish and Zionist literature.' Jewish Tribune Canada

 

'The Lonely Tree by Yael Politis is a sweeping tale set against the Jewsish settlement of Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish state. ... This book is a great one for book clubs.' Mother and Daughter Book Club

 

'...I recommend this book..... at 443 pages, I finished this book in a couple of days...' Valerie McInroe on her blog Life is a Patchwork Quilt.

 

The Lonely Tree won one the of YouWriteOn book of the Year 2009 awards.

 

'The judging panel and YouWriteOn readers alike agreed that The Lonely Tree is really a great read, carrying the reader along with a unique and intelligent story...' - Edward Smith, manager of YouWriteOn

 

'The historical setting, the atmosphere and dialogues are so authentic,... This is a mature, vivid story, great material for a motion picture.' - Rivka Keren (Kati) on YouWriteOn

 

'... writing is powerful, evocative and extremely moving. Tonia is wholly credible ... the reader is drawn into her world...' - Ann Nibbs on You WriteOne

 

'Tonia's character is very well drawn and the reader immediately empathises with her.' - Elaine Hankin (EDH) on YouWriteOn

 

'The tensions of living under constant fear in the Settlement is captured perfectly' - Neil A Randall on YouWriteOn

 

'I was riveted. I was right there in all the action...' - Erich Orser (Squid) on YouWriteOn

 

'...has a steady pace, perfect characterisation and the establishment of the settings can only come from personal experience.' - Prue Batten (Taggie01) on YouWriteOn