Bøker av Amos Oz

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2017Amos Oz's first major novel in a decade - since A Tale of Love and Darkness, which sold over 100,000 copies Selected as a Book of the Year 2016 in the Times Literary SupplementShmuel, a young, idealistic student, is drawn to a mysterious handwritten note on a campus noticeboard.

A story, in which the author takes us on a journey through his childhood and adolescence, along Jerusalem's war-torn streets in the 1940s and '50s, and into the infernal marriage of two kind, well-meaning people: his fussy, logical father, and his dreamy, romantic mother.

An urgent and deeply necessary work, Dear Zealots offers three powerful essays that speak directly to our present age, on the rise of zealotry in Israel and around the world. "Concise, evocative . . . Dear Zealots is not just a brilliant book of thoughts and ideas-it is a depiction of one man's struggle, who for decades has insisted on keeping a sharp, strident and lucid perspective in the face of chaos and at times of madness." - David Grossman, winner of the Man Booker International Prize From the incomparable Amos Oz comes a series of three essays: on the universal nature of fanaticism and its possible cures, on the Jewish roots of humanism and the need for a secular pride in Israel, and on the geopolitical standing of Israel in the wider Middle East and internationally.Dear Zealots is classic Amos Oz-fluid, rich, masterly, and perfectly timed for a world in which polarization and extremism are rising everywhere. The essays were written, Oz states, "first and foremost" for his grandchildren: they are a patient, learned telling of history, religion, and politics, to be thumbed through and studied, clung to even, as we march toward an uncertain future.

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award: A "gorgeous, rueful collection of eight linked stories" capturing the collective dreams of Israel in the 1950s (Chicago Tribune).These eight interconnected stories, set in the fictitious Kibbutz Yekhat, draw masterful profiles of idealistic men and women enduring personal hardships in the shadow of one of the greatest collective dreams of the twentieth century. A devoted father who fails to challenge his daughter's lover, an old friend, a man his own age; an elderly gardener who carries on his shoulders the sorrows of the world; a woman writing perversely poignant letters to her husband's mistress. Each of these stories is a luminous human and literary study; together they offer an eloquent portrait of an idea, and of a charged and fascinating epoch. Award-winning writer Amos Oz, who spent three decades living on a kibbutz, is at home and at his best in this "lucid and heartbreaking" award-winning collection (The Guardian)."Oz lifts the veil on kibbutz existence without palaver. His pinpoint descriptions are pared to perfection . . . His people twitch with life." -The Scotsman

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER and winner of the International Literature Prize. At once an exquisite love story and a coming-of-age novel, an allegory for the state of Israel and for the biblical tale from which it draws its title, Judas is one of Amos Oz's most powerful novels.Jerusalem, 1959. Shmuel Ash, a biblical scholar, is adrift in his young life when he finds work as a caregiver for a brilliant but cantankerous old man named Gershom Wald. There is, however, a third, mysterious presence in his new home. Atalia Abravanel, the daughter of a deceased Zionist leader, a beautiful woman in her forties, entrances young Shmuel even as she keeps him at a distance. Piece by piece, the old Jerusalem stone house, haunted by tragic history and now home to the three misfits and their intricate relationship, reveals its secrets. "[A] magnificent novel . . . Oz pitches the book's heartbreak and humanism perfectly from first page to last."--New York Times Book Review "Scintillating . . . An old-fashioned novel of ideas that is strikingly and compellingly modern."--Observer "Oz has written one of the most triumphant novels of his career."--Forward "A [big] beautiful novel . . . Funny, wise, and provoking."--Times (UK)

Revelatory talks about art and life with internationally acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos OzIn the last years of his life, the writer Amos Oz talked regularly with Shira Hadad, who worked closely with him as the editor of his final novel, Judas. These candid, uninhibited dialogues show a side of Oz that few ever saw. What Makes an Apple? presents the most revealing of these conversations in English for the first time, painting an illuminating and disarmingly intimate portrait of a towering literary figure.In frank and open exchanges that are by turns buoyant, introspective, and argumentative, Oz explains what impels him to begin a story and shares his routines, habits, and challenges as a writer. He discusses the tectonic changes he experienced in his lifetime in relationships between women and men, and describes how his erotic coming of age shaped him not only as a man but also as an author. Oz reflects on his parents, his formative years on a kibbutz, and how he dealt with and learned from his critics, his students, and his fame. He talks about why there is more humor in his later books and gives his exceptional take on fear of death.Resonating with Oz's clear, honest, and humorous voice, What Makes an Apple? offers unique insights about Oz's artistic and personal evolution, and enables readers to explore his work in new ways.

Vi befinner oss i Jerusalem i 1959. Av økonomiske grunner må den unge bibelforskeren Shmuel Ash fortvilet forlate universitetet og ta seg jobb som samtalepartner hos en eldre, intellektuell herre ved navn Gershom Wald. I hans tilbaketrukne hus bor også den mystiske Atalia Abarbanel, en kvinne i førtiårene som Shmuel raskt nærer en attraksjon mot. Hans fascinasjon for Judas, «kristendommens egentlige far», blir et tilbakevendende tema mellom de tre, og romanen utvikler seg snart til en allegori over staten Israel og den bibelske fortellingen den henter sin tittel fra. Judas er Amos Oz' sterkeste roman siden En fortelling om kjærlighet og mørke.

Ekteskapet mellom Alec og Ilana havarerte for mange år siden, med sinne og bitterhet som vrakgods - i tillegg til den nå 16 år gamle sønnen Boaz (som Alec riktignok benektet farskapet til). Ved skilsmissen ble du da også fritatt for ethvert ansvar for Boaz og enhver forpliktelse for meg. Jeg kan det der utenat, Alec. Det er ikke noe håp. Når jeg likevel skriver til deg, er det som om jeg stod ved vinduet og snakket til fjellene. Eller til mørket mellom stjernene, skriver en desperat Ilana til sin eksmann, den anerkjente og svært velstående professoren, med bønn om at han sender en pengesum for å redde Boaz fra tilsynsverger og sosialarbeidere. Brev og telegrammer flyr frem og tilbake. Gammelt hat og begjær vekkes til live. Grådighet og godhet vokser frem. Som om det fantes en svart boks med en annen sannhet, et annet perspektiv. Boaz prøver å finne sin vei gjennom kaoset som virvles opp, og flere og flere engasjerer seg i den ni måneder lange brevskriverprosessen.

Hvorfor skriver du? Når skriver du? Vet du på forhånd hva romanene dine skal handle om? Bruker du hendelser fra ditt eget liv? Kan vennene dine kjenne seg igjen i det du skriver om? Rukhele Reznik, 35 år gammle kvinne, møter mannlig, to ganger skilt, suksessrik bokholder-forfatter i førtiårene, når han holder en opplesning fra en av bøkene sine, en kveld i Tel-Aviv. Forfatteren lar blikket vandre rundt: Finnes det noe eller noen i lokalet som han kan bli kjent med og omskape gjennom veven med ord? Dikt om liv og død utspiller seg gjennom åtte timer i den israelske storbyen og blir til en medrivende strøm av dramatiske hendelser - virkelige eller uvirkelige - utløst av møtet mellom Rukhele og den navnløse forfatteren. Også (virkelig?) i sengen med Rukhele, inntar Forfatteren betrakterens rolle; han kan ikke fri seg fra tankene om andres tanker og gjøremål. På bekostning av hva? Sin egen impotens? Blir den selve parafrasen over et ikke-levd liv? Amos Oz har skrevet sin 31. bok og er nå inne i sitt femte tiår som forfatter. Kortromanen Dikt om liv og død kan betraktes som et konsentrat av hva denne forfatteren - med Nobel-pris kandidatur gjennom de siste ti årene - kan. Oz smetter inn i alle verdens litterære krumspring, og skildrer hvor fjerne mennesker kan være fra hverandre når de er hverandre nærmest.

Amos Oz har skapt sin israelske landsby, Tel Ilan, og retter sitt skarpe, men samtidig empatiske blikk på menneskets tvil, besettelse, ensomhet og smerte. Et større bilde trer frem gjennom syv atskilte historier som på forunderlig vis henger sammen, etter hvert som de samme menneskene rusler inn og ut av dem. Og når Oz introduserer oss for sine karakterer . med sine hemmeligheter, usikkerheter, lengsler og påståeligheter . gjør han det med varsom presisjon. Han trenger bare et par pennestrøk, og vi finner klangbunn i oss selv. Mens den åttende fortellingen tar oss med til en annen tid og til et sted langt, langt borte . som kanskje ikke er så fremmed likevel. «Denne forfatteren skriver som en trollmann. Ting blir levende, det mumler fra vegger og tak. Det er altså ikke bare mennesker som Oz blåser liv i. Dette er stor skrivekunst!» Astrid Eliard, Le Figaro litteraire. «Dette er en forunderlig og gåtefull bok. Men bortsett fra mesterverket fra denne forfatterens penn: En fortelling om kjærlighet og mørke, mener jeg at Historier fra en landsby er blant hans aller beste prestasjoner.» Carole Angier, Literary Review.

This collection - published here in English for the first time - brings together a number of political, personal and literary pieces by Israel's most celebrated living novelist. Their refreshing blend of scepticism and idealism will attract new readers while delighting those already familiar with Oz's writings.

Why are words so important to so many Jews? Novelist Amos Oz and historian Fania Oz-Salzberger roam the gamut of Jewish history to explain the integral relationship of Jews and words. Through a blend of storytelling and scholarship, conversation and argument, father and daughter tell the tales behind Judaism's most enduring names, adages, disputes, texts, and quips. These words, they argue, compose the chain connecting Abraham with the Jews of every subsequent generation.Framing the discussion within such topics as continuity, women, timelessness, and individualism, Oz and Oz-Salzberger deftly engage Jewish personalities across the ages, from the unnamed, possibly female author of the Song of Songs through obscure Talmudists to contemporary writers. They suggest that Jewish continuity, even Jewish uniqueness, depends not on central places, monuments, heroic personalities, or rituals but rather on written words and an ongoing debate between the generations. Full of learning, lyricism, and humor, Jews and Words offers an extraordinary tour of the words at the heart of Jewish culture and extends a hand to the reader, any reader, to join the conversation.

'His parting shot at opposing the storm of fanaticism breaking over our times' Financial Times Dear Zealots is an essential collection of three essays written out of a sense of urgency, concern, and a belief that a better future is still possible.

Introduces us to an extraordinary masterpiece of Hebrew literature S Y Agnon's "Only Yesterday". This collection includes an essay on the essence of his ideology and poetics.

In a village far away, deep in a valley, all the animals and birds disappeared some years ago. Eventually they find themselves in a beautiful garden paradise full of every kind of animal, bird and fish - the home of Nehi the Mountain Demon.

When Soumchi, an eleven-year-old boy growing up in British-occupied Jerusalem just after World War II, receives a bicycle as a gift from his Uncle, he is overjoyed - even if it is a girl's bicycle. Ignoring the taunts of other boys in his neighborhood, he dreams of riding far away from them, out of the city towards the heart of Africa.

Eight interlinked family dramas set on an Israeli kibbutz from the masterful storyteller behind A Tale of Love and Darkness'On the kibbutz it's hard to know.

The author grew up in war-torn Jerusalem, where as a boy he witnessed first-hand the poisonous consequences of fanaticism. In this book, he brings us face to face with fanaticism he suggests ways in which we can all respond.

It's 1950s Jerusalem. Hannah Gonen has just married and is thrilled and pained by her young well-meaning husband, Michael. Haunted by her dreams of two boys who disappeared from Jerusalem after the establishment of the state of Israel, Hannah gradually withdraws from her husband into a private world of fantasy and suppressed desires.

Offers insights into the true nature of fanaticism and proposes an approach to resolve the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This book comments on contemporary issues - the Gaza pullout, Yasser Arafat's death, and the war in Iraq. It argues that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a war of religion or cultures or traditions.

An unnamed author waits in a bar in Tel Aviv on a stifling hot night. He is there to give a reading of his work but as he sits, bored, he begins to conjure up the life stories of the people he meets. She declines and the author walks away, only to climb the steps to her flat, later that night.

Where the Jackals Howl is prize-winning author Amos Oz's first collection of stories. The fate of these individuals, their drives, ambitions and idiosyncrasies, are grounded by the physical and social structure of their community as Oz portrays their world as a microcosm of the wider world.

'One of the greatest prose writers in contemporary fiction' The TimesIn the last years of British rule in Jerusalem, a lonely, bookish Israeli boy befriends a British soldier in this tale of friendship in the face of enmity. Jerusalem 1947.

The Hill of Evil Counsel is a fusion of history and imaginative narrative, re-creating the twilight world of Jerusalem during the fading days of the British Mandate.

Unto Death contains two beautiful short novels linked by death and destruction. Count Guillaume of Touron sets out on a crusade to Jerusalem and on the way he serves his God by killing any Jews he meets. In Late Love Oz portrays an elderly professor living alone in Tel Aviv, a man neither loving nor loved.

In this powerful, hynotic work Amos Oz peers into the darkness of our lives and gives us a glimpse of what goes on beneath the surface of everyday existence. By the winner of the 2013 Franz Kafka Prize, previous winners of which include Philip Roth, Ivan Klima, Elfriede Jelinek, Harold Pinter and John Banville.

'A writer of revelatory genius' GuardianFollowing the bizarre accidental death of his wife, Israeli secret service agent Yoel Ravid retires to the suburbs with his daughter, mother and mother-in-law.

A powerful and tragicomic blend of politics and personal destiny, Black Box records in a series of letters the wrecked marriage of Ilana and Alex. Seven years of silence following their bitter divorce is broken when Ilana writes to Alex for help over their wayward and illiterate son, Boaz, and old emotional scars are reopened.