Synopses & Reviews
A rich and varied selection of writingsfrom the early sixties to the presentby Amos Oz, one of Israels leading novelists, public intellectuals, and political activists.
The Amos Oz Reader draws on Oz's entire body of work and is loosely grouped into four themes: the kibbutz, the city of Jerusalem, the idea of a "promised land", and his own life story. Included are excerpts from his celebrated novels, among them Where the Jackals Howl, A Perfect Peace, My Michael, Fima, Black Box, and To Know a Woman. Nonfiction is represented by selections from Under This Blazing Light, The Slopes of Lebanon, In the Land of Israel, and Ozs masterpiece, A Tale of Love and Darkness. With an illuminating introduction by Robert Alter. Praise for A Tale of Love and Darkness:
"A[n]
ingenious work that circles around the rise of a state, the tragic destiny of a mother, a boys creation of a new self." The New Yorker
"Detailed and beautiful
As he writes about himself and his family, Oz is also writing part of the history of the Jews." Los Angeles Times
AMOS OZ is a prize-winning novelist and essayist whose honors include the Prix Femina, the Israel Prize, the Frankfurt Peace Prize, and the Prince of Asturias Award for Letters. Most recently, his memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, received the Koret Jewish Book Award. He lives in Arad.
NITZA BEN-DOV is Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at Haifa University, as well as a scholar of biblical poetics.
ROBERT ALTER is an esteemed scholar and translator. His recent translations include The Book of Psalms and The Five Books of Moses.
Review
"...all [the selections] are representative of an intensely poetic writer who is concerned with contemporary life in a conflicted Israel. Oz's subjects come out of his experiences of kibbutz living, war, and the struggles of individuals who are in conflict with Israeli society's ideals. For readers wanting to sample the range of this important international writer, this collection will serve as a fine introduction."
Review
Praise for Amos Oz:
Review
"...this literary album contains striking snapshots by a gifted writer with a capacious heart and humane philosophy."
Review
"Bringing the same intensity of engagement and passion for poetic expression to fiction and nonfiction alike, [Oz] articulates the psychological complexity beneath the armor of Israel's bellicose politics and the tragedy of its geopolitical predicament. This well-organized volume reaches back to the 1960s, mixes genres, and showcases Oz's beautifully mythic prose...Timely and illuminating."-Donna Seaman, Booklist "[T]his literary album contains striking snapshots by a gifted writer with a capacious heart and humane philosophy."-Kirkus Reviews
Review
"If you don't know Oz, then start right here and become hooked."
Review
The
Readerdraws on Ozs entire body of work, loosely grouped into four themes: the kibbutz, the city of Jerusalem, the idea of a "promised land," and his own life story. Included are excerpts from his celebrated novels, among them
Where the Jackals Howl, A Perfect Peace, My Michael, Fima, Black Box,and
To Know a Woman.Nonfiction is represented by selections from
Under This Blazing Light, The Slopes of Lebanon, In the Land of Israel,and Ozs masterpiece,
A Tale of Love and Darkness.Robert Alter, a noted Hebrew scholar and translator, has provided an illuminating introduction.
Introductionby Robert Alter
The Kibbutz "an exemplary non-failure"
The Kibbutz at the Present Time (fromUnder This Blazing Light-- an essay)/ 7-11
Where the Jackals Howl (fromWhere the Jackals Howl-- a story)/ 12-29
The Way of the Wind (fromWhere the Jackals Howl-- a story) 30-51
An Extended Family (fromElsewhere, Perhaps)/ 52-79
Secret Adaptability (fromA Perfect Peace)/ 95-125
Jerusalem An Alien City
An Alien City (fromUnder This Blazing Light -- an essay)/ 129-135
It's Cold in this Jerusalem of Yours (fromMy Michael)/ 136-158
Whoever Moves toward the Light Moves toward the Holy City (fromCrusade)/ 176-215
Life Nowadays is like a Stupid Party (fromThe Hill of Evil Counsel --a novella)/232-258
A City where All Men are Half Prophet, Half Prime Minister(fromFima)/ 290-326
In the Promised Land
The Meaning of Homeland (fromUnder This Blazing Light -- an essay)/ 351-373
Thank God for His Daily Blessing (fromIn the Land of Israel -- epilogue)/ 374-394
Yours with Great Respect and in Jewish Solidarity (fromBlack Box)/ 395-429
And So Yoel Ravid Began to Give In (fromTo Know a Woman)/ 436-465
Hebrew Melodies (fromThe Slopes of Lebanon -- prologue)/ 494-516
In an Autobiographical Vein
An autobiographical note (fromUnder This Blazing Light an essay)/ 519-524
Father and Son in a Search for Love (fromThe Same Sea) 525-527
My Mother was Thirty-Eight when She Died (fromA Tale of Love and Darkness)/ 528-541
Imagining the Other is a Deep and Subtle Human Pleasure (Goethe Prize Speech)"Bringing the same intensity of engagement and passion for poetic expression to fiction and nonfiction alike, [Oz] articulates the psychological complexity beneath the armor of Israel's bellicose politics and the tragedy of its geopolitical predicament. This well-organized volume reaches back to the 1960s, mixes genres, and showcases Oz's beautifully mythic prose...Timely and illuminating."-Donna Seaman,Booklist "[T]his literary album contains striking snapshots by a gifted writer with a capacious heart and humane philosophy."-Kirkus Reviews " This well-organized volume reaches back to the 1960s, mixes genres, and showcases Ozs beautifully mythic prose...Fluent in social matters, Oz finds meaning in the lives of individuals, each a cosmos of pain and love. Timely and illuminating.""...this literary album contains striking snapshots by a gifted writer with a capacious heart and humane philosophy.""...all [the selections] are representative of an intensely poetic writer who is concerned with contemporary life in a conflicted Israel. Ozs subjects come out of his experiences of kibbutz living, war, and the struggles of individuals who are in conflict with Israeli societys ideals. For readers wanting to sample the range of this important international writer, this collection will serve as a fine introduction.""If you dont know Oz, then start right here and become hooked."
Review
" This well-organized volume reaches back to the 1960s, mixes genres, and showcases Ozs beautifully mythic prose...Fluent in social matters, Oz finds meaning in the lives of individuals, each a cosmos of pain and love. Timely and illuminating."
Synopsis
The
Reader draws on Ozs entire body of work, loosely grouped into four themes: the kibbutz, the city of Jerusalem, the idea of a "promised land," and his own life story. Included are excerpts from his celebrated novels, among them
Where the Jackals Howl, A Perfect Peace, My Michael, Fima, Black Box, and
To Know a Woman. Nonfiction is represented by selections from
Under This Blazing Light, The Slopes of Lebanon, In the Land of Israel, and Ozs masterpiece,
A Tale of Love and Darkness. Robert Alter, a noted Hebrew scholar and translator, has provided an illuminating introduction.
Synopsis
A rich and varied selection of writings--from the early 1960s to the present--by Amos Oz, one of Israel's leading novelists, public intellectuals, and political activists.
Synopsis
A rich and varied selection of writings from the early sixties to the present by Amos Oz, one of Israels leading novelists, public intellectuals, and political activists.
The Reader features extensive excerpts from the entire range of Oz's career, loosely grouped into four themes which Oz's work has consistently reflected: the kibbutz, the city of Jerusalem, the idea of "promised land", and his own life story. Editor Nitza ben-Dov has included extracts from a career-spanning range of Oz's novels, among them WHERE THE JACKALS HOWL, ELSEWHERE PERHAPS, A PERFECT PEACE, MY MICHAEL, CRUSADE, FIMA, BLACK BOX, and TO KNOW A WOMAN. Nonfiction is represented by selections from UNDER THIS BLAZING LIGHT, THE SLOPES OF LEBANON, IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL, and Ozs recent masterpiece, A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS. Brought together thus, we can see how firmly grounded all of his writing is in the Israeli reality he knows so intimately and about which he feels so passionately the Jerusalem of his childhood, the kibbutz where he lived and worked for many years, the landscape and politics of the land of Israel.
THE AMOS OZ READER is an invaluable introduction to the work of one of the most highly regarded writers in the world today.
About the Author
Amos Oz was born in Jerusalem in 1939. He is the author of fourteen novels and collections of short fiction, and numerous works of nonfiction. His acclaimed memoir
A Tale of Love and Darkness was an international bestseller and recipient of the prestigious Goethe prize, as well as the National Jewish Book Award.
Scenes from Village Life, a
New York Times Notable Book, was awarded the Prix Méditerranée Étranger in 2010. He lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Nicholas de Lange is a professor at the University of Cambridge and a renowned translator. He has translated Amos Ozs work since the 1960s.
Table of Contents
Introductionby Robert Alter
The Kibbutz "an exemplary non-failure"
The Kibbutz at the Present Time ( from Under This Blazing Light-- an essay)/ 7-11
Where the Jackals Howl (from Where the Jackals Howl-- a story)/ 12-29
The Way of the Wind (from Where the Jackals Howl-- a story) 30-51
An Extended Family (from Elsewhere, Perhaps)/ 52-79
Secret Adaptability (from A Perfect Peace)/ 95-125
Jerusalem An Alien City
An Alien City (from Under This Blazing Light -- an essay)/ 129-135
It's Cold in this Jerusalem of Yours (from My Michael)/ 136-158
Whoever Moves toward the Light Moves toward the Holy City (from Crusade)/ 176-215
Life Nowadays is like a Stupid Party (from The Hill of Evil Counsel --a novella)/232-258
A City where All Men are Half Prophet, Half Prime Minister (from Fima)/ 290-326
In the Promised Land
The Meaning of Homeland (from Under This Blazing Light -- an essay)/ 351-373
Thank God for His Daily Blessing (from In the Land of Israel -- epilogue)/ 374-394
Yours with Great Respect and in Jewish Solidarity (from Black Box)/ 395-429
And So Yoel Ravid Began to Give In (from To Know a Woman)/ 436-465
Hebrew Melodies (from The Slopes of Lebanon -- prologue)/ 494-516
In an Autobiographical Vein
An autobiographical note (from Under This Blazing Light an essay)/ 519-524
Father and Son in a Search for Love (from The Same Sea) 525-527
My Mother was Thirty-Eight when She Died (from A Tale of Love and Darkness)/ 528-541
Imagining the Other is a Deep and Subtle Human Pleasure (Goethe Prize Speech)