Israeli Speculative Fiction Beyond Is/real

This collection of essays investigates both the elements that locate Israeli speculative fiction in relation to world speculative literature, and the features that render it unique. For decades, Israeli literary culture seemed to focus almost entirely on realistic genres; however, a closer examination reveals not only the prevalence of speculative literature in the country, but also its significance in shaping both enduring and emerging ideas about Israeli identities. Recognizing the significance of speculative literature in the reconfiguration of modern Israeli identities will expand and deepen conversations about the wider Israeli culture.

The book contains essays about temporality and spatiality, and explorations of work by seminal authors such as Etgar Keret and Orly Castel-Bloom, as well as Assaf Gavron, Shimon Adaf, Ishay Sarid, and Lavie Tidhar. It also includes unique perspectives on Palestinian Israeli speculative fiction and Israeli comics.

This volume invites readers to enter conversations about Israeli culture that go beyond discourses about what is real, and encounter, instead, discussions about how Israelis use speculative fiction to imagine what might be.