NIRGAD, Lia (Liyah Nirgad)

PERSONAL:

Female. Born in Belgium.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Overlook Press, 141 Wooster St., New York, NY 10012.

CAREER:

Writer, translator.

WRITINGS:

(As Liyah Nirgad) Guf zar, Am oved (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1993.

As High As the Scooter Can Fly, Overlook Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Translator of books, including Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, and Birds of America, by Lorrie Moore.

SIDELIGHTS:

Lia Nirgad is a writer and translator who was born in Belgium and raised in Nigeria, Argentina, and Israel, where she now lives. As High As the Scooter Can Fly is her first English-language book.

The adult fairy tale is about one of several sisters whose names all begin with the letter "L," and one of whom is long dead but occasionally comes back for a visit. Layla, their mother, is bored with her life in the suburbs and marriage to a cold, silent husband, and when she uncovers a magic scooter in the backyard, she sets off on a globetrotting adventure to find happiness and a handsome prince. Library Journal reviewer Sheila Riley felt that "while the story exudes imagination and invokes some charming pictures, it lacks the coherence and depth of a true fable."

Booklist's Carol Haggas maintained that in spite of some heavy issues, like abuse, divorce, child custody, and male chauvinism, "Nirgad's tone is Sleeping Beauty-perfect: light and glib, and oh so delectably tongue-in-cheek. A delightful fantasy, fetchingly told."

A Kirkus Reviews contributor said that Nirgad's "chatty, knowing approach is winning, leaving much to ponder in this modern-day morality tale that fathoms depths of the heart as profoundly as might Madame Bovary. "

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2002, Carol Haggas, review of As High As the Scooter Can Fly, p. 58.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002, review of As High As the Scooter Can Fly, p. 1256.

Library Journal, October 15, 2002, Sheila Riley, review of As High As the Scooter Can Fly, p. 94.

Publishers Weekly, October 28, 2002, review of As High As the Scooter Can Fly, p. 52.*