Published: 27 August 2021
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Israeli-Australian writer Ben Sharafski tells Paula Towers about the slow gestation of his collection of short stories, and the support he got from iconic poet Les Murray
FANTASY COLLIDES WITH fact in Ben Sharafski’s recently published collection of six interlinked stories, titled Returning to Carthage. An Israeli-Australian writer living in Sydney's northern beaches, Sharafski describes the book as “autobiographical fiction”.
“The stories are inspired by some actual emotional crises in my life,” Sharafski told The Jewish Independent. “The protagonist is loosely based on me but there are a lot of features that are imaginary... fictional events and characters were added to make the structure coherent.”
The title flags the author’s overarching theme: “Carthage presents a fascinating blend of the oddly familiar and the exotic,” he writes in his short story that references the city, which was founded in Tunisia in the eighth century and prospered from the wisdom and skills of other ancient civilisations. The story was also driven by his interest in ancient coins, similarities across Semitic languages and his early life experiences in Israel.
From ancient cultures to more recent ones, Sharafski traverses time into modern history and through generations, from World War II Manchuria to a contemporary Sydney wedding, linking countries across Asia, Australia and Europe.
Through his journey, he examines cultural clash, different sensitivities and humour and its impact on families and the world as people navigate through sometimes murky emotional waters towards safe harbour. Along the way, life’s sentimental moments are sometimes revealed in the smaller details – for example, the familiar tune of Greensleeves heralds the joyful arrival of ice cream for him, as well as his small daughter.
Though he became serious about writing around eight years ago, Sharafski, now in his mid-50s, traces his interest in writing back to his youth. “When I was a soldier in Israel, conscription was a horrible period in my life, military service was really depressing. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, with no stimulation.”
He buried himself in books; his favourite writer was Italo Calvino, the famous Italian author. “I became obsessed with his books.” With fanboy fervour and a touch of chutzpah, he looked up Calvino’s Hebrew translator in the Tel Aviv phone book and asked for his address.
I ended up writing a letter to Calvino as a 19-year-old and he responded - referring to me as ‘a young fellow writer’ – I was very touched!
“I ended up writing a letter to Calvino as a 19-year-old and he responded to me!” he says, astonished. “Referring to me as ‘a young fellow writer’ – I was very touched!”
After completing his military service, Sharafski planned to fly to Melbourne and work for a few months in his uncle's business. “I ended up falling in love with Australia and studying and then settling here.” Arriving in Australia in the late ’80s, he has lived in the northern beaches for over 20 years now - “a beautiful part of the world”.
Although Returning to Carthage is Sharafski’s first book, this collection of short stories has had a long incubation, having been collated over a decade and published in a variety of newspapers and magazines.
“I think it takes some maturity to understand what your talent is, and what you can and can’t do; what’s worthwhile expressing,” he says. “I’m definitely a late bloomer.”
Some of the stories were published in the renowned Australian political and literary journal Quadrant. Two Lives, Intersected was reviewed by its long-standing literary editor and the iconic poet, the late Les Murray, who remarked about it: “Excellent! Desperately sad.”
Sharafski’s relationship with Murray is a quirky but charming side story to the book. They had a literary relationship conducted only through correspondence. “I never met Les Murray face-to-face. He shunned the internet age; he had no internet so all communication with him was by correspondence.
I never met Les Murray face-to-face. I’d write him a letter and then he’d send me a postcard.He took me under his wing, and he published quite a few of my stories.
“I’d write him a letter and then he’d send me a postcard. I’d respond with a postcard, then he’d write me a letter. He took me under his wing, and he published quite a few of my stories [in Quadrant].
“It was like how you read the memoirs of the great writers of 100 years ago, like the letters of George Orwell… I managed to hang onto the tail-end of the letter-writing era in literature.”
Sharafski says this work is now “gaining traction, getting readers from all over the world”. The first story in the book, Love and Lies in Laos, has already been translated into Spanish and is available as a podcast on Spotify, thanks to an Argentinian friend who publishes a podcast of short stories in Spanish on Spotify and fell in love with the story.
As for his future plans, rather than another collection of short stories, he’s now working on one long-form story. Meanwhile, he’s hoping to have a more formal launch when the time allows. “I am looking forward to the end of lockdown when I could have a nice bookstore launch and invite friends for a celebratory wine, to connect face-to-face.”
Returning to Carthage (in print, Kindle and ePub format) can be ordered from Amazon, Booktopia, Dymocks and all leading book retailers