HIGH POINT, N.C., March 11, 2015 – Jaded Ibis Press will publish a novel written by Dr. Jacob Paul, assistant professor of English at High Point University, on April 1 titled “A Song of Ilan.”
“A Song of Ilan” tells the story of Ilan Frank over the course of a single transformative day, as his increasingly uncertain hold on the woman he loves, Yedit, and his resurgent crisis of faith finally collide to undo his comfortable life as a financial adviser in New York City.
“My novel is the product of a decades’ struggle to understand how a crisis of faith could find answer in an act of terror,” says Paul. “Now, nearly 14 years after 9/11, that question sadly seems as relevant as ever.”
The novel travels from the cliffs of the Hudson Valley to the tunnels of New York City’s subway system as it follows Ilan through three versions of his crisis. In each version, Ilan is haunted by the would-be suicide bomber he shot a decade earlier in Tel Aviv.
“This is necessary reading for anyone who wishes to understand the personal, spiritual and political impact of religious terrorism, and of the violence that seeks to suppress it,” says Mark Levine, New York City Council Member and Chair of the City Council Jewish Caucus.
Jacob Paul’s 2010 debut novel, “Sarah/Sara,” was named one of the five best first fictions by Poets & Writers that year. His collaboration in Greensboro with Adam Moser and Sarah Martin led to an art book “Home for an Hour,” released in December 2014.
Upcoming events for Paul’s book launch are as follows:
- Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. – Reading & Signing at The King’s English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
- Thursday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. – Guest Lecture, Reading & Signing at Piedmont College, 567 Georgia St., Demorest, GA 30535
- Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. – Reading & Signing at Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St., Greensboro, NC 27401
- Saturday, April 18 – Craft Talk, Reading & Signing at the North Carolina Writers Network Conference