"The novel begins with the story of Ziama, a Russian-Jewish newspaper editor living in a West Bank, Israeli settlement with her husband, daughter, and confidant - her beloved Tibetan terrier. Enter Writer N., a famous Russian-Jewish writer living in Jerusalem with her own husband and children; Writer N. struggles to characterize, to shape scenes, to find her mot juste, to fend off harassing syncophants, to find time to write at all.".

"Ziama, it turns out, is the protagonist of the novel that Writer N. is writing. Is the character of Ziama based on someone who actually exists in Writer N.'s world? To what extent do Ziama's troubles echo Writer N.'s? Are Ziama's friends composities or re-creations of Writer N.'s own friends?

The reader ponders these questions while dozens of characters in Here Comes the Messiah! contend - sometimes hilariously, sometimes tragically - with the dangers of life on the West Bank, with efforts to form a Russian emigre political party in Israel, with the pressures of running a newspaper beset by eccentric journalists and visitors claiming to be the Messiah. Does the Messiah, in fact, exist in this fictional world? Can Writer N. find redemption? Can the Israeli nation?"--BOOK JACKET.