Dovaleh Greenstein

The protagonist of the novel, Dovaleh Greenstein is a comedian performing one night of stand-up comedy in Netanya. He is paying alimony to three ex-wives and child support for five children. During his performance, Dovaleh wins the crowd over quickly by target certain guests and using raunchy humor, but as the night wears on Dovaleh begins sharing stories of his childhood more and making jokes less, until he eventually loses the entire crowd. The narrator, a judge whom Dovaleh invited, realizes halfway through that Dovaleh is dying of what is probably cancer, based off Dovaleh's gaunt appearance.

Dovaleh grew up in a little town nearby Netanya, the only child of his mother and father. Dovaleh's stories about his parents make it clear they were both refugees from the Holocaust, his mother in particular enduring a harrowing escape to make it over. His father worked as a barber...