Scenes from Village Life
Alex Majoli (Front jacket photograph) and Colin Mc Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. First U.S. Edition [stated]. Second printing [stated]. Hardcover. The format is approximately 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches. DJ has slight wear, soiling and sticker scuffing. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads To Elizabeth Best Amos Oz. Amos Oz (born Amos Klausner; 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onwards, Oz was a prominent advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He was the author of 40 books, including novels, short story collections, children's books, and essays, and his work has been published in 45 languages, more than that of any other Israeli writer. He was the recipient of many honors and awards, among them the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels, the Legion of Honour of France, the Israel Prize, the Goethe Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award in Literature, the Heinrich Heine Prize, and the Franz Kafka Prize. Oz is regarded as one of "Israel's most prolific writers and respected intellectuals", as The New York Times worded it in an obituary. Nicholas Robert Michael de Lange (born 7 August 1944) is a British Reform rabbi and historian. Nicholas de Lange is an emeritus fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge. He has written and edited several books about Judaism and translated numerous works of fiction by Amos Oz, S. Yizhar and A. B. Yehoshua into English. In November 2007, he received the Risa Domb/Porjes Prize for Translation from the Hebrew for his translation of A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz. Strange things are happening in Tel Ilan, a century-old pioneer village. A disgruntled retired politician complains to his daughter that he hears the sound of digging at night. Could it be their tenant, that young Arab? But then the young Arab hears the digging sounds too. Where has the mayor's wife gone, vanished without trace, her note saying Don't worry about me ? Around the village, the veneer of new wealth, gourmet restaurants, art galleries, a winery, barely conceals the scars of war and of past generations: disused air raid shelters, rusting farm tools, and trucks left wherever they stopped. Scenes from Village Life is a memorable novel-in-stories by the inimitable Amos Oz: a brilliant, unsettling glimpse of what goes on beneath the surface of everyday life. Derived from a Kirkus review: Mysteries bedevil the inhabitants of an Israeli village in this story collection, the 14th work of fiction from the renowned Israeli. The village of Tel Ilan was founded by farmers at the start of the 20th century. A century later, the village is gentrifying as wealthy outsiders discover its charms. That’s a problem, but the locals are wrestling with less obvious disturbances. In the longest story ("Digging"), an 86-year-old man, a former Knesset member and unpleasant misanthrope, is being cared for by his middle-aged daughter; their handyman, an Arab university student, also lives on the property. The old man complains of mysterious digging sounds under the house at night. Imaginings. But then the Arab hears them, and finally so does the daughter. Yossi Sasson, the realtor in “Lost,” is troubled by the feeling he must do something, but exactly what he doesn’t know. If his unease is existential, how to explain his sighting of an Alpine hiker in the middle of town? The popular mayor, Benny Avni, is looking for his wife after receiving a cryptic message from her ("Waiting"). Like Yossi, he must make a decision; if only he knew about what. A third character troubled by an undefined mission is the unnamed narrator of "Singing.” He’s a guest at a communal singing event, a successful evocation of village life by Oz. The hosts are a couple whose only child committed suicide. That memory triggers the narrator’s own “despair”; but despair over what? He’s a mystery man. There are yet more unresolved mysteries in "Heirs" and "Relations." In the former, a man living with his ancient mother is visited by a predatory lawyer claiming kinship. But why does the bedridden old woman fondle this obnoxious intruder? In "Relations," a doctor is disturbed by the non-appearance of her beloved, absent-minded nephew. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Tel Ilan, Village, Politician, Arabs, Digging, Vanished, Air Raid Shelters, Knesset, Misanthrope, Handyman, Yossi Sasson, Realtor, Benny Avni, Mayor, Communal, Singing, Suicide, Despair, Lawyer, Kinship, Doctor, Nephew
ISBN: 9780547483368
[Book #85838]
Price: $115.00