Someone to Run With

A dynamic and piercing story from the Booker Prize–winning author about an adventure that will flip your life upside down—a journey through the scorching, sunbaked streets of Jerusalem, about friendship and the fleeting beauty of first love.

Asaf, a shy sixteen-year-old, works part-time in the Jerusalem municipality during the summer. One day he is tasked with finding the owner of a lost dog and delivering him a notice about a fine payment. From that moment, Asaf’s quiet life turns into a thrilling adventure that—literally—gets him dragged along by the dog named Dinka. Now the two of them run through the streets of Jerusalem together. The chase after restless Dinka first leads Asaf into a pizzeria, then into a Greek monastery, and finally into the abandoned Arab village of Lifta, which has become a drug den. At the same time, Dinka’s owner is also walking around the city—a young, talented singer named Tamar. The girl ran away from home and now earns her living by performing songs in the plazas of old Jerusalem. Asaf’s and Tamar’s paths are tied by fate, but before they can meet, they will have to overcome many trials.

David Grossman is an Israeli writer, publicist, and playwright, also a journalist. International Booker Prize laureate. “Run, Who Would You Go With” is one of the most beloved books for adults and teenagers around the world. The novel has been translated into 20 languages, including German, English, Italian, Polish, and Russian. More than 1,000,000 copies have been sold worldwide. The novel received the prestigious Sapir literary prize (the Israeli equivalent of the Booker Prize).

In 2006, an adaptation with the same title was released in Israel.