The association of Nazism with the symbol of ultimate evil - the devil - can be found in the works of Klaus and Thomas Mann, Else Lasker-Schuler, and Rolf Hochhuth. He appears either as Satan of the Judeo-Christian tradition, or as Goethe's Mephisto. The devil is not only a metaphor, but a central part of the historical analysis. Barasch-Rubinstein looks into this phenomenon and analyzes the premise that the image of the devil had a substantial impact on Germans' acceptance of Nazi ideas. His diabolic characteristics, the pact between himself and humans, and his prominent place in German culture are part of the intriguing historical observations these four German writers embedded in their work. Whether writing before the outbreak of WWII, during the war, or after it, when the calamities of the Holocaust were already well-known, they all examine Nazism in the light of the ultimate manifestation of evil.

A Bird Flight: After the death of her father the narrator travels to an academic symposium in Chicago; her host seems fixated on her bereavement as he tries to reach understanding of his own recent loss through her experience.;Earrings: The narrator's choice of earrings becomes symbolic of her desire to establish her own identity separate from the clashing ways of her mother, born in Israel, and her grandmother who emigrated from Europe.;The Grammar Teacher: A teacher who is certain of the right and proper way to behave and teach, and who achieves the highest standards from her classes, finds everything she believes in challenged by a new, modern teacher.;Watch Dog: The consequences of an irrational fear of dogs for a young man seeking to make his way in the world.;Aura: A man lies in a hospital bed and experiences an internal world disconnected from his old life.

When Daphne becomes pregnant, it isn't only her life that changes... For her husband Amir, for their parents, and for their friends Guy and Abigail, the pregnancy and birth force them all to look at their own lives, at what they want, at their pasts and their futures. Each person has a different perspective of the delivery, and of the complexity of having a child: the difference between men and women, a changing self-perception of parents, conflicts between work and parenthood. Lives are changed, and the equilibrium each of them has achieved is fundamentally disturbed until, after the delivery, they can find a new balance for the future. "Giving birth is almost never depicted in fiction. I don't remember ever reading such a description of a delivery, neither in Hebrew fiction nor in world literature." Interview with Alit Karp, literary critic of Haaretz and Makor Rishon "The book focuses on daily issues and touches the deepest places... I loved the novel and kept thinking about it long after reading it." Lee Yanini, reviewer in the The Israeli Librarian Journal "...a very profound novel, polished and complex. It is practically impossible to put it down until the very end. Barasch Rubinstein is an extraordinary writer..." Review in Chi Tarbut