David Grossman is an Israeli novelist born on January 25, 1954 in Jerusalem, Israel. He grew up with limited means as his father was a librarian. However, it is because of his father that Grossman developed a love for reading and literature. As a child, his main literary role model was Sholem Aleichem, a globally-acclaimed Yiddish author whose works served as the inspiration for the musical, Fiddler on the Roof. Grossman eventually attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to study philosophy and theatre. After graduation, he worked as an anchor on Kol Yisrael, a well-known Israeli broadcasting service. His venture into writing fiction novels began in 1983 when he published his debut book entitled The Smile of the Lamb. He released his second novel, See Under: Love, three years later in 1986.
See Under: Love tells the story of a 9-year-old boy named Momik, the son of two Holocaust survivors. He knows his parents are haunted by an event that occurred in their past, but he cannot possibly understand the absolute atrocities they endured in concentration camps. Grossman explores this young child’s disillusionment with humanity as he learns of what the Holocaust truly entailed.
Upon its publication, See Under: Love received rave reviews from critics and audiences for its moving portrayal of a boy coming to terms with the violence omnipresent in the world. Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times states that Grossman “testifies to the powers of fiction, for he has created in this volume a dazzling work of imagination that forces us not only to examine the consequences of history but also to recognize the possibility of their transcendence.”
David Grossman has published numerous more novels since See Under: Love, including The Book of Intimate Grammar, The Zigzag Kid, Be My Knife, Someone to Run With, and Her Body Knows.
