Adapted from articles, interviews, and lectures from the 1960s and '70s, this is a provocative collection on Israeli society by one of the country's foremost novelists. In his lyrical prose, Oz (Fima, 1993, etc.) ponders such issues as Jewish identity, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the concept of a Zionist homeland. In his lengthy 1967 piece on ``the meaning of homeland,'' Oz defines a Jew as anyone who publicly acknowledges his or her Jewishness. Religious law alone, Oz contends, should not be the defining factor. A Jew, he argues, is someone who relates to the Jewish past and shares the fate of the Jewish present—whether voluntarily or by force. Oz perceives the annihilation of European Jewry as ``the logical outcome of the ancient status of the Jew in Western civilization.'' For thousands of years, he writes, the Diaspora Jew was ``an archetype in the dungeons of the Christian soul,'' making Auschwitz, not assimilation, the Jew's inevitable destiny. Zionism, Oz argues, is the sole option for a Jew who does not wish to exist merely as a ``symbol in the consciousness'' of strangers. And since the ancestral homeland of Israel has remained in the hearts and prayers of Jews for millennia, it was the logical locus of their quest for normalcy. Since Oz is not religious, however, his Zionism is more complex. He writes, ``I am a Zionist in all that concerns the redemption of the Jews, but not when it comes to the `redemption of the Holy Land.' '' He sees the Palestinian conflict as a struggle of ``right and right'' between two peoples with valid historical claims and grievances. He abhors the tendency of the Israeli right wing to deny the Palestinians' legitimacy, and he provides insights into Arab fears of the ``Satanic power of Zionism.'' Whether these musings touch upon the kibbutz, Israeli literature, or his early years in Jerusalem, Oz captivates the reader with his elegantly poetic voice.
Pub Date: April 26, 1995
ISBN: 0-521-44367-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Cambridge Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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