Helen Zahavi (born 1966) is an English novelist and screenwriter born and educated in London. Her father was sent to Britain with the Polish Army in the Second World War, while her mother's parents came from Odessa. Before becoming a writer, Zahavi worked as a Russian translator. She has spent several years in Paris.Interview on German crime fiction site. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
Dirty Weekend Zahavi's first novel, Dirty Weekend (1991), caused a media storm on publication: critical reaction was extreme and polarised. A half-page article in The Sunday Times questioning the book's morality and the author's sanity set the tone for much of the press comment that followed."Woman makes killing on 'murder men' book", The Sunday Times, 10 February 1991. The book was attacked by Salman Rushdie,"20-20 Vision", Salman Rushdie, The Independent on Sunday, 17 January 1993. defended by Naomi Wolf,"The animals speak", Naomi Wolf, New Statesman & Society, 12 April 1991. and analysed at length in both the broadsheet and popular press.Extracts from reviews of Dirty Weekend on author's website Retrieved 30 December 2012. Despite initial media hostility, the book went on to be a strong seller in the UK and in Europe.Bestseller list, The Sunday Times, 15 March 1992.
Dirty Weekend has been translated into 13 languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Czech and Korean. It was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel AwardFront page, The Times, 30 October 1991. and adapted as a film by Michael Winner, the director of Death Wish. Zahavi has a screen credit as co-writerIMDb page Retrieved 27 December 2012. and appeared with Winner on an edition of the Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark alongside, among others, the father of the so-called Yorkshire Ripper.List_of_After_Dark_editions#Series_4
Zahavi has written three further novels – True Romance (1994), Donna and the Fatman (1998), and Brighton Boy (2013) – which have been widely reviewed and translated.
Awards and nominations Dirty Weekend was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award in 1991.Front page, The Times, 30 October 1991.
Bibliography Dirty Weekend (Macmillan, 1991) True Romance (Secker & Warburg, 1994) Donna and the Fatman (Anchor, 1998) Brighton Boy (Bestseller Books, 2013)
References
External links
Interview with Gerald Jacobs – The Independent on Sunday Noir Transformations: Gender, Place and Identity in The Talented Mr Ripley and Dirty Weekend – Andrew Jeffcoat, Lancaster University/[Crimeculture.com] Interview with Alex Kershaw – Tribune Magazine Sauve Qui Peut Zahavi – François Rivière, Libération