Mention Epithetical Books To the End of the Land
| Title | : | To the End of the Land |
| Author | : | David Grossman |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 581 pages |
| Published | : | September 21st 2010 by Vintage Books (first published 2008) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Israel. Historical. Historical Fiction. War. Literature. Jewish |
David Grossman
Hardcover | Pages: 581 pages Rating: 3.97 | 5905 Users | 876 Reviews
Commentary As Books To the End of the Land
From one of Israel’s most acclaimed writers comes a novel of extraordinary power about family life—the greatest human drama—and the cost of war. Ora, a middle-aged Israeli mother, is on the verge of celebrating her son Ofer’s release from army service when he returns to the front for a major offensive. In a fit of preemptive grief and magical thinking, she sets out for a hike in the Galilee, leaving no forwarding information for the “notifiers” who might darken her door with the worst possible news. Recently estranged from her husband, Ilan, she drags along an unlikely companion: their former best friend and her former lover Avram, once a brilliant artistic spirit. Avram served in the army alongside Ilan when they were young, but their lives were forever changed one weekend when the two jokingly had Ora draw lots to see which of them would get the few days’ leave being offered by their commander—a chance act that sent Avram into Egpyt and the Yom Kippur War, where he was brutally tortured as POW. In the aftermath, a virtual hermit, he refused to keep in touch with the family and has never met the boy. Now, as Ora and Avram sleep out in the hills, ford rivers, and cross valleys, avoiding all news from the front, she gives him the gift of Ofer, word by word; she supplies the whole story of her motherhood, a retelling that keeps Ofer very much alive for Ora and for the reader, and opens Avram to human bonds undreamed of in his broken world. Their walk has a “war and peace” rhythm, as their conversation places the most hideous trials of war next to the joys and anguish of raising children. Never have we seen so clearly the reality and surreality of daily life in Israel, the currents of ambivalence about war within one household, and the burdens that fall on each generation anew. Grossman’s rich imagining of a family in love and crisis makes for one of the great antiwar novels of our time.
Be Specific About Books During To the End of the Land
| Original Title: | אישה בורחת מבשורה |
| ISBN: | 0307592979 (ISBN13: 9780307592972) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Ora, Adam, Avram, Ilan, Ofer |
| Literary Awards: | National Jewish Book Award for Fiction (2010), BTBA Best Translated Book Award Nominee for Fiction longlist (2011), Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Nominee for Longlist (2011), Prix Médicis Etranger (2011), National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (2010) Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize (2011), Grand prix de l'héroïne Madame Figaro for Roman étranger (2012) |
Rating Epithetical Books To the End of the Land
Ratings: 3.97 From 5905 Users | 876 ReviewsPiece Epithetical Books To the End of the Land
Ora, an Israeli mother, planned a Galilee backpacking trip with her youngest son, Ofer, to celebrate the end of his army conscription. But, like a fist through her soul, he signed up for a major offensive, another twenty-eight days. Barely holding her sanity together--her husband, Ilan, has trekked off to Bolivia with her oldest son, Adam--she flees from her fear of the "notifiers" (the government officials who deliver grave news) and leaves, anyway, sans cell phone and contact access.Ora pleadsThis novel has been praised by commentators of all stripes, from the odious Jeffrey Goldberg to the righteous Gideon Levy. I'd like to concur that it is in fact a beautiful work of art. Politically, David Grossman seems to consider himself something of a liberal Zionist (an oxymoron in my opinion, but never mind that for now); this is very far from a didactic book, however. I'd even say its wisdom exceeds the opinions of its author. Grossman has no particular case to make here. Mostly this is a
I've been wanting to read this book ever since it came out three years ago. I kept putting it off and finally formed the world's smallest possible reading group with one other person, a woman from one of my regular reading groups. We set a date to discuss it and encouraged each other along. I am so glad we did that. Ruth is Jewish and has visited Israel twice. She is the mother of two grown sons, as am I. We met for lunch and talked about the book for three hours!To The End Of The Land is about
They sit quietly, digesting. Ora hugs her knees, rationalizing that she isn't all that accessible and permeable even to herself anymore, and that even she herself doesn't go near that place inside of her. It must be that she's growing old, she decides--for some time now she's had a strange eagerness to pronounce her aging, impatient for the relief that comes with a declaration of total bankruptcy. That's how it goes. You say goodbye to yourself even before other people start to, softening the
At first I struggled a bit with this book: it took me more than 80 pages to get into the story, but what followed after that was unparalleled and heart breaking. Why did I love this book?1. With Ora as his protagonist Grossman has sketched a "big", primeval woman: mother, lover, mistress at the same time. That sounds silly and of course very gender-coloured, I know, but this character really captivated me. Ora is powerful, hypersensitive, very obsessed with life, but often also very weak, blind,
This book was WONDERFULUPDATE: 5 years later: *August 2015*A friend 'Liked' this review yesterday. My body felt frozen - I had to remember to breath. Honestly, I have never been more 'shocked' -'frozen' with an ending to a book than this one. I was a mess. It was not a happy ending--but I still had no idea --NONE --of what I was about to discover. I was devastated. At first I couldn't move --then I cried -then I couldn't move some more. I remember at some point going up to the trails, alone, for
This may be one of the best books I've ever read. No, that seems to contain some doubt. This IS one of the most amazing books I've ever read. I have been sleep deprived for a week because I could not put it down until long after exhaustion set in. It is set in Isreal (it's translated from Hebrew) and is about Ora, whose son's military service is extended a month just as a campaign against Lebanon begins. Ora makes a pact, a deal, where if the notifiers can't find her, then her son can't die-- so
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