Should christiansand jesus, for that matterbe grateful to judas, then. His notable books include the novels my michael 1968 and black box 1987 and the memoir a tale of love and darkness 2002. 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. He paints beautiful pictures with every description, whether of people, places or feelings. Haaretz amos oz belongs to the great authors of world literature suddeutsche zeitung book description. At once an exquisite love story and comingofage novel, an allegory for the state of israel and for the biblical tale from which it draws its title, judas is amos ozs most powerful novel in decades. The very first line of judas, the most recent novel by acclaimed israeli author amos oz, sets the mood for the entire book. The renowned israeli writer amos oz bucks this trend in his latest novel judas in which he makes a strong case, if somewhat. Amos oz was one of israels greatest authors a novelist, essayist, political activist, intellectual and soldier. At once an exquisite love story and a comingofage novel, an allegory for the state of israel and for the biblical tale from which it draws its title, judas is amos ozs most powerful novel in decades. In judas, his first novel in more than a decade, klausners greatnephew amos oz artfully resumes the debate and reconsiders the contemporary meaning of judas for the jewish state. From judas, picked by natalie portman for her inaugural book circle which she started in the wake of his recent death, to my michael, his breakthrough novel, weve picked five of ozs books to introduce you to this great writer. The israeli author, a longrumored contender for the nobel prize, has reduced the physical action of this story to a tableaux of domestic grief. Amos oz, author of judas ozs latest is set in jerusalem in 1959, and centers on three people with vastly different views of israel, life and the world who gradually argue.
In the novel judas, amos oz wrestles with jewish attitudes toward. But beneath a scene of fermented woe, he incites a storm of theological and political arguments about the founding of israel. Judas by amos oz underlines the innocence of the famous traitor judas. Pensive, sometimes even brooding novel by oz between friends, 2014, etc. Amos oz, israeli novelist, shortstory writer, and essayist in whose works israeli society is unapologetically scrutinized. Judas by amos oz reading guidebook club discussion. See all books authored by amos oz, including a tale of love and darkness, and judas, and more on.
Oz has written one of the most triumphant novels of his career. Judas, amos ozs return to the novel, a genre he had not frequented since a history of love and darkness, raises an audacious and novel interpretation of the figure of judas iscariot in the context of an anguished and delicate love story. Judas is a rich and thrilling novel, one of the most interesting books published this year. The name and long legacy of judas iscariot is exhaustively interrogated in israeli author amos ozs new novel, his first in a decade. Judas kisses jesus christ in the garden of gethsemane. If there had been no judas, there would have been no crucifixion and no christianity. Oz denies that his book is a political allegory, its easy to envision it as a reply to those who see his views on israeli policy as betrayals. Where to start reading amos ozs books recommendations. Judas by amos oz 2016, hardcover for sale online ebay. Amos ozs novel considers the role of the infamous apostle as part of a novel set in postwar jerusalem. Amos oz on his novel judas, which challenges views of a. Even an annus horribilis can be redeemed if it contains a new amos oz novel. I chose this book because of the reputation of amos oz worldwide.
Oz, the celebrated israeli writer, was a boy living in jerusalem under the. Its 1959, and shmuel ash, an intelligent, hirsute and left. Judas is a novel the first from amos oz in more than 10 years, and a very absorbing addition to his remarkable oeuvre. The israeli author, a longrumored contender for the nobel prize, has reduced the physical action of this story to a. Born in jerusalem in 1939, amos oz was the internationally acclaimed author of many novels and essay collections, translated into over forty languages, including his brilliant semiautobiographical work, a tale of love and darkness. His last novel, judas, was shortlisted for the man booker international prize 2017 and won the yasnaya polyana foreign fiction award. Betrayal in jerusalem by avishai margalit the new york. Amos oz s novel considers the role of the infamous apostle as part of a novel set in postwar jerusalem. Ozs novel a comingofage story about both a young man and a young country is set in the winter of 1959. The major part of the book consists of dialogue between wald, atalia, and shmuel as they discuss religion, the proper role of zionism, the legacy of the 1948 war, and issues pertaining to their.
Amos oz returns to rougher roots with this deeply felt novel, writes eileen battersby. This is so in their own lives through the loss of micha, and for jews nationally by heaping misery on jews and arabs alike. The judas is fiction, thriller and a fabulous novel about the jewish concept of judas. Given its provoking, even incendiary, themes, judas will be dissected as a novel of ideas. Judas, a new novel by amos oz, is a paradox of stillness and provocation. What is striking in judas, amos ozs captivating new novel, is that the jewish abravanels, both father and daughter, view the 1948 war as an unmitigated catastrophe.
In the winter of 1959, the world of the young shmuel ash falls apart. Haaretz haaretz amos oz belongs to the great authors of world literature. First novel by oz i ever read, wont be the last one. Here is a story from the winter days of the end of 1959 and the. Amos oz, whose dedication to the twostate solution has at times called his loyalty into question, asks whether these men might be betrayed true believers, men. Judas book charlotte mecklenburg library bibliocommons. In the manuscript he is calling the gospel according to judas the original hebrew title of ozs novel, ash writes. The setting of the novel is 1959 jerusalem, a divided city struggling to find it identity after its founding. Yet oz always evokes the gloomy, stormlashed city with a. The judas is an amazing novel with an interesting story of a jew writing his medical thesis about the jewish concepts of judas. Amos ozs new novel, judas focuses on the three characters that are alive, but a number of those who have passed play a significant role in the story.
Amos ozs first novel in over 10 years considers the contemporary meaning of judas in the nascent jewish state. Shortlisted for the man booker international prize 2017 amos ozs 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 supplement shmuel, a young, idealistic student, is drawn to a mysterious handwritten note on a campus. Amos oz was 14 when, two years after his mother took her own life, he left the city of his birth, jerusalem, for kibbutz hulda. For ozs fans and liberal zionist fiction readers judas is a required text whose writing is its own reward. A scintillating novel set in 1950s jerusalem blends a tender comingofage story with a thoughtprovoking study of. A tale of love and darkness by amos oz, black box by amos oz, judas by amos oz, how to cure a fanatic by amos oz, and my michae. Title bit misleading i expected the book to be a historical novel on the judas jesus relationship though reading the title does make sense as one of the themes is treason and one of the final chapters is a reimagining of judas s final days. Judas iscariot was therefore the author, the impresario, the stage. The forward an intellectual biography of judas, a tender narrative of love and heartbreak, and a thoughtful consideration of the stakes and limits of israeli politics. Winner of the international literature prize, the new novel by amos oz is his.