"[An] indelible memoir.” New York Times
Description
Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, this extraordinary memoir is at once a great 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. His mother and father, both wonderful people, were ill-suited to each other. When Oz was twelve and a half years old, his mother committed suicide—a tragedy that was to change his life. He leaves the constraints of the family and the community of dreamers, scholars, and failed businessmen to join a kibbutz, changes his name, marries, has children, and finally becomes a writer as well as an active participant in the political life of Israel.
A story of clashing cultures and lives, of suffering and perseverance, of love and darkness.
Praise
"[An] indelible memoir.” New York Times
“[An] ingenious work that circles around the rise of a state, the tragic destiny of a mother, [and] a boy’s creation of a new self.” New Yorker
“Detailed and beautiful…As he writes about himself and his family, Oz is also writing part of the history of the Jews…We are in the hands here of a capable, practiced seducer.” Los Angeles Times
“It is impossible to give a full account of this book’s riches.” Washington Post Book World
“This lyrical saga…succeeds both as a revelatory tale of the artist as young man and a gripping portrait of the young Jewish state itself.” Miami Herald
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Oct 3, 2016 |
| Release Date | October 4, 2016 |
| Release Date Machine | 1475539200 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Art & Literature, Nonfiction - Adult, Nonfiction - All |
Author Bio
Amos Oz (1939–2018) was an Israeli journalist and author of acclaimed fiction, nonfiction, and short stories who was called one of “Israel’s most prolific writers and respected intellectuals” by the New York Times. He was awarded many honors, including the Franz Kafka Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, France’s the Legion of Honor award, the Israel Prize, the Goethe Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award in Literature, and the Heinrich Heine Prize, among others.
Narrator Bio
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.
Overview
Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, this extraordinary memoir is at once a great 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. His mother and father, both wonderful people, were ill-suited to each other. When Oz was twelve and a half years old, his mother committed suicide—a tragedy that was to change his life. He leaves the constraints of the family and the community of dreamers, scholars, and failed businessmen to join a kibbutz, changes his name, marries, has children, and finally becomes a writer as well as an active participant in the political life of Israel.
A story of clashing cultures and lives, of suffering and perseverance, of love and darkness.
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