About this title: Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, this bestselling and critically acclaimed work is at once a family saga and a magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived through its turbulent history. It is the story of a boy growing up in the war-torn Jerusalem of the forties and fifties, in a small apartment crowded with books in twelve languages and relatives speaking nearly as many. The story of an adolescent whose life has been changed forever by his mother's suicide when he was twelve years old. The story of a man who leaves the constraints of his family and its ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780156032520ISBN:015603252X
Description: Acceptable. Cover has slight edge wear. Light soiling on sides of book. Slight creasing or wear on corner of several pages. Minor water damage but content intact. Otherwise, pages are clean and unmarked. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harcourt
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780151008780ISBN:0151008787
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Good. 0151008787 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Fine. 015603252X NEVER USED! This book has never been read. There are no highlights, No pen marks, No missing pages. The binding is sturdy. This book may have slight shelf wear. Upgraded shipping on orders over $49.99. Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Description: Like New. 2005-Paperback-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780099450030ISBN:0099450038
Description: Good. Save some $$$. Perfectly Good Reading Copy. Shelfwear from storage in box with other books. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harcourt
Date Published: 2004-11-15
ISBN-13:9780151008780ISBN:0151008787
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. Mild bumping and wear from handling; DJ has mild rubbing to covers and spine; DJ covered in brand new Brodart Mylar; ** Free USPS tracking and confirm on US orders ** read more
Description: Book: Very Good. DJ: Very Good. 8vo. 538 pp. 6 1/8 x 9 1/8. Gray cloth covered boards, stamped in gold on spine. Gold dj. Very light wear. read more
"a long, monotonous life story for the most part, but the parts where his family lives through the forming of the State of Israel and the hardships they faced at that time are quite interesting. A story of a family in dysfunction and depression, heartbreaking enough, but the mother's suicide is what darkens this author's life and weaves throughout the book."
"I often got frustrated with this book. Oz uses so many words and has so many characters. He also goes back and forth in time, sometimes confusing. But this all adds up to a richly detailed and felt memoir."
"This book snuck up on me and made me fall in love. I wasn't sure how I felt about it for the first hundred pages or so. I thought the writing was exquisite, but I wasn't sure how interested I was by a story about an only child growing up in his dreamy, book-filled world. But as I kept reading, I found myself pulled further and further into his world. So many poignant details, so many touching family stories, so many tragic human interactions.
Some of my favorite parts: - The author's mother's stories. All complex, intricate, and gorgeous, yet sordid. - The bird singing Fur Elise. I loved the way it was threaded through the book and placed at the very end. - Seeing a child's idealistic perspective on the creation of the Israeli state and the hopes of making peace with the Palestinians, and the way that changed as the violence escalated and he developed a more jaded adult view.
Also, kudos to the translator, Nicholas de Lange. I had a hard time believing this was a translation. Wow. The language was just so beautiful, without a trace of awkwardness. There were a lot of parts that must have been tricky to do (the father's jokes and puns, the rhyming, the extremely specific, detailed descriptions, etc.). I am in awe of his work. Of course, he had an amazing original to work from, but still."
"Amos Oz was a young child when the state of Israel was being created. His was a family if immigrants, escaping from the Russian and Polish pogroms. A band of intellectuals who could not find meaningful work in the Jerusalem of the time: the city was overflowing with scholars. His father's dream is to be a professor, but, in spite of his vast knowledge of languages (he speaks 17!) and ethymology, he can only find work as a librarian, forever in the shadow of his famous writer uncle. His mother is a dreamer who never adjusts to the rough, poor life in the new country and ends up committing suicide when Oz is a child of 12. Oz is an ardent nationalist as a child; after his mother's death, and against the wishes of his father, who wants him to be a scholar, he gets himself accepted into a kibbutz. There he works the fields, learns to use a riffle and try to get a tan and become one of the rugged, all powerful, in his view, nation builders."
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