In contemporary New York City, a Jewish woman falls in love with a Palestinian wall painter who has been charged with killing her. Galia, a Russian Jew living in New York, has no idea that the man she’s drawn to, Alejandro (not his real name), isn’t Mexican at all, but is actually a Palestinian who carries out the wishes of his Mastermind, ostensibly a college professor. Where she sees a passionate, hard-to-reach riddle of a man, he sees a woman who is swept up in a global conspiracy to undermine Palestinian claims to Jerusalem—all because of a book she posted online about the ancient Hasmonean dynasty. But as they draw closer, Alejandro begins to question his assignment, putting them both in grave danger. "Very original. A monumental work of vibrant imagination." --Moris Farhi,Turkish author, vice-president of International PEN since 2001 "This rich...novel works on many levels, and it is impossible to label it, to define it by genre. It is both a love story, a philosophical novel, a historical novel, a surreal fable, a meditation on the absurdity of extremism, an allegory of our condition, and a mystery. In a nutshell, it is an original and beautiful novel." --Dmitry Borshch "Queen of the Jews" is both subtle and deep; this is intellectual prose of outstanding artistic merit." -- A. Sinitsyn, in "Peremeny", a Russian literary journal, about the Russian edition of the book. "The only character who is not looking for anyone to blame is Galia. She openly laughs at other people's prejudices. The book she posts online is just a book, and not an incitement to a world coup in order to claim the throne of the Queen of Judea. And a cup of coffee brought to the man she loves is just a cup of coffee, and not a recognition of someone's superiority. ...The author breaks down barriers, making her protagonist absolutely free - from clichés as well as from other people's ideas. Freedom lives in your head. There are no enemies. If you invented them for yourself, if you drew them up and put extreme ideas into their heads - you've lost your freedom." --Stanislav Sekretov in "Znamia" (about the Russian edition of the novel). "Fearlessly, and with inspiring ease, the author touches upon ...painful topics, offering a completely new point of view. Several times already the word "significant" has been applied to "Queen of the Jews". I agree, and, not wishing to repeat myself, I will turn to an electronic dictionary of synonyms. A soulless machine will not let me lie: historical, universally significant, relevant, most important. " --Tatiana Rizdvenko, in "Koltso-A", writing about the Russian edition of the novel. "Queen of the Jews explores many themes, but the most striking is the sense of right and wrong. It highlights the internal conflict in a person's mind when they are without choice and have to go against their conscience. From the moment Galia saw Alejandro, she felt an insane attraction to him. Perhaps it's his ferocious voice or his boyish face; she couldn't tell which but was hooked. His reaction to her didn't dissuade her. Instead, she always found reasons to talk to him, to be in his presence. Alejandro is at acrossroads. Despite his devotion to his people and the promise of the one thing he wanted more than any other thing, he couldn't go through with the professor's task. The more he tried to see the danger in her writing, the less it made sense. If only the "mastermind" could know her as he does, maybe he would change his mind. But time is running out, and his conviction is waning. He has to take action fast. N.L. Herzenberg is the pen name of a Russian born author, and she is a brilliant writer. She has a spectacular mastery of voice. Her narration of the same scenes from the perspectives of distinct characters, her poetic writing style, and the embedding of another story into the main plot is outstanding. It's no wonder she has a repertoire of literary work in several languages. Her writing enthralled me to the very end. ... It is fascinating, educational, and poetic." --Online Book Club Review "Queen of the Jews" is one of those rare contemporary novels that depict a love story whose protagonists are very convincing in their contrasting male and female attributes, all the more so since their otherness is enhanced by the fact that the male is Palestinian and the female Jewish-American. ...Well written and researched, this is a very topical and useful reading for the current times." --Alta Ifland NL Herzenberg is the new pen name of a New York-based artist and writer. Under her real name she is the author of several books of poetry and prose. Her work has been translated into Japanese, French, Hebrew, Dutch, Greek, and Spanish.