SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Here's a business plan - Harry Rosenmerck, an aging cardiologist, has left New York and his medical practice, moved to Israel and raised pigs - pigs in Israel. What could he be thinking? His ex-wife, Monique, is battling illness. Their son, David, a playwright, has been estranged from Harry since he came out. And Anabelle, their daughter, is heartsick in Paris. And by the way, the local rabbi is appalled. Harry does not believe in phones, email, text messages, Facebook or WhatsApp. So the family quartet and Harry's rabbi rely on a classic technology called letters. The story that goes back and forth in those letters is told in Amanda Sthers' novel, which she's also turned into a film, "Holy Lands." Amanda Sthers, who was born in Paris, joins us from Los Angeles. Thanks so much for being with us.
AMANDA STHERS: Thank you.
SIMON: The pig business in Israel doesn't sound very promising, but Harry does pretty well for a while, doesn't he?
STHERS: Well, actually there's a real business in Israel, and this is how it all started. I read an article in a very serious French newspaper explaining how to raise pigs in Israel. And I found the paradox hilarious, of course. And for once, Muslims and Jews are agreeing on something - or, more precisely, against the same thing.
SIMON: Yeah.
STHERS: So in the novel, it's a great starting point to create very strong animosity against the rabbi. And this is the first letter - will you stop and take those pigs away (laughter)?
SIMON: Yeah, the local rabbi doesn't welcome them. Let's put it that way.
STHERS: Yeah. And while there's a lot of rules to actually raise pigs in Israel. You must raise them on wood, so they won't touch the holy ground. And they must be kind of hidden.
SIMON: Wow. But, I mean, there are people that eat pork in Israel.
STHERS: A lot actually. It's, like - it's very fashionable in Tel Aviv.
SIMON: We should explain for those who wonder - you know, there are secular Jews, especially in Tel Aviv and then, you know, Christian populations and - well, is Harry running away from something?
STHERS: Well, I think it's kind of a provocation to God. And he's also running away from reality, which is that he got a divorce from his wife. And he also is running away, not to see his son being a homosexual. And it's about his limit of tolerance. He think he's very open-minded going to Israel and raise pigs. And at the same time, he cannot accept that his son is married to another man.
SIMON: I've got to ask you about this immediately because this - Harry's - and I'll call it bigotry towards gays, including his son - his son just didn't correlate with anything else I knew about him in the book. I mean, he does pride himself on being a free thinker, right? He takes on the rabbi theologically in all kinds of ways. He thinks of himself as broad-minded. How could he have this bigotry towards other people that happens to include his son?
STHERS: Well, I think it's the same when you look at religions - it's contradictions. Most religions are serving love (laughter) and want people to be loved in any ways and don't accept homosexuality. So he's just the incarnation of, like, what do we do about those contradictions. And he's fighting against also the idea he had of what his son is going to become. We all have this image of what we wish for our children and myself included. We all imagine a destiny for them, and then we have to face the truth and keep on loving them with lots of different ways of living their life.
SIMON: Yeah. I love the very touchy relationship in this novel between Harry and Rabbi Moshe, who begin as adversaries, but what draws them together?
STHERS: This is a real friendship. This is how I think you truly love someone - is to understand the way he looks at life, even if it's completely different than yours. And I think what brings them together is that they're both very intelligent people. And it's not about being wrong or right. It's about trying to understand that maybe there's other ways to see life. And I think it's really a metaphor about what is going in Israel between Palestinian and Israelis. And this is what the book is about. It's about reconciliation, and it's about trying to see the world with another pair of eyes. And this is friendship.
SIMON: Yeah. And we should note that "Holy Lands" is not only a novel now but it's soon to be a major motion picture, which you directed...
STHERS: Yes.
SIMON: ...James Caan and Rosanna Arquette and Jonathan Rhys Myers. What came first to you, the film, the book? How do you handle this workload?
STHERS: Actually, I wrote this book 10 years ago in French. And I was living in Los Angeles. I said, well, I wanted my my friends to read it in English. And this is how it all started - just wanted to share the story more and more because in France it was a huge success and people had fun, but it's also a very moving novel I think. And what was the strongest thing for me was people telling me, you know, when I close the book, I took my phone and I called the people I loved to tell them before it was too late.
SIMON: Oh, my gosh.
STHERS: Because it's a book about what's left unsaid and about tolerance and how you can - it's really reconciliation in the big picture but also in the family. And then the motion picture was a big surprise. I didn't imagine I could cast those huge names. I feel like I'm blessed and very happy to be able to share it with you now.
SIMON: Amanda Sthers - her novel, "Holy Lands." Thanks so much for being with us.
STHERS: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF WOLFERT BREDERODE TRIO'S "CURTAINS")