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 writer. Lively, tentative, and undogmatic, Oz's compelling literary insights make for consistently stimulating reading, while his commentary on Israel's cultural and political situation seems more relevant than ever in the light of recent developments. The essays reveal a complex and humane figure of practical political influence and lasting literary stature.
Table of Contents
Preface; Introduction; Events and books; Under This Blazing Light; 'Man is the sum total of all the sin and fire pent up in his bones'; 'A ridiculous miracle hanging over our heads'; The State as reprisal; A modest attempt to set out a theory; The meaning of homeland; The discreet charm of Zionism; A. D. Gordon today; Thoughts on the kibbutz; The kibbutz at the present time; How to be a socialist; Munia Mandel's secret language; Pinhas Lavon; The lost garden; An autobiographical note; An alien city; Like a gangster on the night of the long knives, but somewhat in a dream; Notes; Publication history; Index.
