In the new novel Bliss by the Israeli writer Ronit Matalon (Metropolitan Books, trans. Jessica Cohen), there's a passage that stayed with me like a pesky tune. Sarah is a young woman with a small child who wants to divorce her husband; Inès is an older friend from a different generation: "Life's not good," Sarah says. "When is it, tell me? When was it ever good?" Inès loses her temper. "What's the problem -- does he drink?" Sarah shakes her head. "Does he go with other women?" "No," Sarah says. "Does he bring home money?" "That's not the problem, Inès."...