ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  How is Three Floors Up different from Eshkol Nevo’s previous novels?

Eshkol Nevo was born in Jerusalem in 1971, and spent part of his childhood in the United States.  He studied psychology in Tel Aviv and worked for a time in advertising until he gave that up to devote all his time to literature.  He is one of the most representative Israeli writers of his generation and has published novels, short stories and nonfiction. His novels have all been top bestsellers in Israel, and have been translated into many languages.  Nevo’s novels are also very successful abroad and he has received many prestigious international prizes in countries such as France, Italy, and Austria, as well as in Israel. Two of his books, World Cup Wishes and Three Floors Up, have been adapted for the stage, and Three Floors Up is also being made into a movie, directed by the celebrated Italian director Nani Moretti.

Eshkol Nevo also co-founded and co-manages the largest private creative writing school in Israel and is considered the mentor of many upcoming young Israeli writers. We spoke with him during his recent trip to Spain to present the Spanish edition of Three Floors Up, which is called “Tres Pisos” in Spanish.