''Beaufort'' (English translation of ''אם יש גן עדן''; in Hebrew: If There's a Heaven) is the first novel by Israeli author and media professional

Ron Leshem Ron Leshem ( he, רון לשם; born December 20, 1976), is an Israeli-American television writer and producer, best known for serving as executive producer on HBO's '' Euphoria'', and for the film '' Beaufort'', which was nominated for the Acade ...

. The work was initially published in 2005 and in English translation under this title in 2007. The novel was the basis for the 2007

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated film ''

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

''. ''Beaufort'' is about an

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

unit stationed at the

Beaufort Castle, Lebanon Beaufort or Belfort Castle, known locally as Qal'at al-Shaqif ( ar, قلعة الشقيف, Qalʾāt al-Shaqīf) or Shaqif Arnun, is a Crusader fortress in Nabatieh Governorate, Southern Lebanon, about to the south-south-east of the village o ...

post in

Southern Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost distric ...

during the South Lebanon conflict. It takes the form of a narrative written by the unit's commander, Liraz Librati, who was the last commander of the Beaufort castle before the Israeli withdrawal in 2000. The Hebrew original of ''Beaufort'' won Israel's 2006

Sapir Prize The Sapir Prize for Literature of Israel is a prestigious annual literary award presented for a work of literature in the Hebrew language. The prize is awarded by Mifal HaPayis (Israel's state lottery), and is a part of the organization's cultural ...

for Literature and the

Yitzhak Sadeh Prize The Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Literature is an annual award literary award given in Israel for the finest book on a military topic. It is named in honor of Yitzhak Sadeh. Winners * 1976, ''The Emissary: The Life of Enzo Seren'' by Ruth Bo ...

for Military Literature.

Bibliography

, ''Im yesh gan eden.'' Tel Aviv: Zmora Bitan Publishing (2005) * Ron Leshem, ''Beaufort'', New York:

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

(2007), translation
Evan Fallenberg
* Ron Leshem, ''Beaufort'', London:

Harvill Secker Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

(2008),

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

edition

External links

''Beaufort'' synopsis at Random House, Inc.

Reviewed by Tim Rutten, ''Los Angeles Times''
21st-century Israeli novels Military novels 2005 novels Novels set in Lebanon {{2000s-war-novel-stub