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Summary: Israel in the 1980s
Review: A somewhat fetishized portrayal of life in Israel in the early 1980s. The author describes interviews which he supposedly conducted with several different people in Israel. Like the vast majority of authors and journalists who produce literature about Israel, Oz overly dramatizes the situation and tries to paint an apocalyptic picture. The interviews were supposedly taken in the early 1980s during the war in Lebanon and before the intifada and Oslo, so many of the issues discussed are no longer quite relevant. The book is very interesting nonetheless and one of Amos Oz's best. Just take it with a grain of salt.
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Summary: Great intoduction to Isreali essayist
Review: One of those books you wish would go on and on. I saw Oz being interviewed on BBC a few years ago and was quite impressed. His book is balanced and fair (as far as we can know regarding what his sources said and what made it to the page). I'm very much interested in Mid East politics and social/cultural issues. I'm trying to look at all angles. (I just finishing Karen Armstrong's "Holy War" on the Crusades and their impact on the region then and now.) I would like to find a fair, impartial, and complete (as possible) book on Zionism/Kibbutz movement as it affected both Jews and Moslems. (Any suggestions? )I highly recommend this book and now am reading "A Perfect Peace".
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Summary: An essential read
Review: This book is an excellent contribution to the understanding of Israel in general and of the situation between the Palestinians and Israelis in particular and is, in my opnion, a "must read" for anyone interested in deepening their knowledge in this area. The book is a collection of articles first published serially in 1982-83. Each chapter is an interview that author Amos Oz conducted in Israel or the Palestinian territories in late 1982. The interviews include a teacher at an orthodox rabbinical high school, two Palestinian journalists/writers, an Israeli Arab, settlers in the West Bank, North African Jewish immigrants, a French Catholic priest in Jerusalem, a Jewish farmer and his wife living in the coastal plain, and an elderly Rumanian immigrant in the seaside city of Ashdod. It should be emphasized that the book is NOT a "cross section" of Israeli society and it does not profess to portray the "average" Israeli. Amos Oz himself says as much when he says he does not believe these articles to be a "representative" picture. Nevertheless, these articles have value in that they provide in depth views into one of the smallest yet one of the most complex and diverse societies on the planet. However, what is most valuable about the book is the 17-page postscript added at the end. This postscript is a lecture that the author delivered in Michigan in 1993, ten years after the original interviews had taken place, and it presents the author's analysis of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Mr. Oz believes in a two-state solution: Israel and Palestine, two independent states co-existing side by side peacefully. In this lecture, he presents the sanest, most rational, most balanced perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of anyone I have ever heard or read. It is more insightful than anything I have heard from a "talking head," news commentator, or media pundit. Although it was written 10 years ago, nearly all of it is still valid today (in 2002). The postscript itself is almost worth the price of the whole book. Outstanding. This book has my highest recommendation.
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Summary: gasp
Review: This book takes the breath out of me! I have never been to Israel, but I've met israeis out and about. The violence of the opinions that people hold about israel etc. are difficult to handle sometimes. My admiration has always been for people who can discuss such intense issues squarely and without losing their cool. Oz does this. I don't know how fair the book is, or how reasonable, but was like holding dynamite in my hands. Each chapter develops the arguments presented by a different person/group of people. It leaves the impression of brave, passionate people in an intense country. Usually I can read a book from cover to cover, but this time is was like: read a chapter, recover for a few days, read another one. I strongly recommend this book. In some places it's beautiful.
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Summary: Cross-Section of Israeli Society
Review: This book was one assigned in my judaic civ class at unc. I was by no means excited about having to read it, but i found it to be a phenomenal, page-turning piece of non-fiction. More than any textbook, Oz describes the people and places of Israel so vividly you begin to feel as if you are visiting yourself. It was undeniably helpful to me, an American Christian who never really studied Israel, in understanding the complex world of Israeli politics. Moreover, it helped me to see the exent to which Judaism was present in Israeli life. He did a great job of giving Arabs a fair portrayal and a voice. I had a hard time believing Oz didn't make these characters up! I am looking forward to starting in on some of his fiction. What a brilliant writer!
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Summary: A small collective portrait of Israel in the 1980's
Review: This is a book about meetings in Israel with different kinds of Israelis. Oz does a good job of listening sympathetically and narrating the stories and complaints of those he meets. One especially powerful meeting occurs in a development town where those of the ' second Israel' powerfully spell out their grievances. The writing here is clear and often very moving. Though Oz is of course touted for his fiction it seems to me that this small piece of writing is , to the point he wrote it, his most effective work.
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Summary: Cross-Section of Israeli Society
Review: This is a great book that provides a very insightful view of Israeli society. Oz has managed to present a great cross-section of views in Israel, interspersed with insightful commentary. A great book for anyone seeking to understand Israelis opinion.
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