'The Universal Language is a memoir about the unity of music set in the complexity of Israel, as a young woman studying in Jerusalem comes to question her own identity through the prism of a divided city.
'In 2013, Nicky Gluch knew herself to be Australian, a woman, aged 19 and a Jew. In Israel, she found herself travelling with Americans, working alongside Palestinians, and living, for a time, with an Arab nun. She thought she wanted to be a doctor, that healing people would fulfil a sense of purpose, but as she dove deeper into exploring that which divides us – religion, language, country – she came to seek that which unites us.
'Nicky Gluch has a vision of what message she wants readers to gain from her stories:
'‘We should be seeking that which unites us rather than that which divides. But the aim of the book is more to provide a reflective space.
'‘I call it a book of fragments. How the pieces come together is one part, but I also urge readers to look between the gaps.’'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
