Be My Knife: A Novel

I read the book in hebrew, not the English translation, so you may take my review with its limitations. I think this is a touching, extremely accurate (high resolution) book about a man and a woman, getting to know each other intimately without meeting. the book is about peeling off your layers of layers of dishonesty, your masks, and touching the essence of 'you' and 'I'. It is written in a rich langauge, with lots of little stories, ideas, imagery. I find it amazing that the author can write in completely different 'voices' when writing the man and when writing the woman. I think this book is above all an "experience" - you don't read it without you yourself exposing some bits of your true self to your self as you read.

Another reviewer put it perfectly- this book isn't for everyone.I found "Be My Knife" completely by accident one day while I was looking for something interesting and unique to read. The description on the back cover made me pick it up (and not put it down).Though I became frustrated at times, wishing the story would progress more quickly, I'm glad I didn't give up. The end was definitely worth the wait.If you like analytical brain-candy, give this book a try. I haven't read anything else by the author, but if I come across another DAVID GROSSMAN title, I'll be sure to grab it fast!

This is one of the toughest books I have ever read, but it seems to be important. The form is unusual - the first person character has a correspondence with a woman he saw at a school reunion. They agree never to meet, but to be completely frank in their letters. For the first 225 pages we read only one side of the correspondence, the man's. Another section contains the diary of the woman. The third section is murky - their thoughts merge, and they may or may not actually meet and interact together. It seems to be about people who are detached from their own feelings as well as estranged from others, even those closest to them. The man may be trying not to be like his father, but still ends up being as cruel and controlling to his own son. All of my conjectures are conditional, as some of the action is unclear, yet I found the book haunting and thought-provoking.

This is one of the most moving books I have ever read. The subject, an affair conducted entirely by words, is engrossing. The language is beautiful and poetic. As soon as I was finished, I felt like reading it again, so as to be able to focus on all the small details I may have missed the first time. I did not find Yair's self-absorption disturbing. All of us are self-absorbed in so many ways, but few of us are capable of revealing our deepest secrets to another human being the way he is. And few authors are capable of presenting such an honest portrait of yearning, for another person and another life.

In 'Be My Knife' acclaimed novelist David Grossman parses in the deepest way imaginable into the lives of 'Yair' and 'Miriam' who begin an affair of and in words only - a true epistolary tour de force. If you like dense extraordinary imagery, daring and completely off-the-wall thoughts, even more daring and off-the-wall actions, then YOU will love this book and you will continue to come back to it and dip into it, long, long after you have finished it. And after you have finished it, you will be changed. And you will look at your own relationships differently perhaps, even at yourself differently. Whether you have ever had an affair or not. And then you will want to read all his other books that have this amazing style and lack of fear. I rate this ace reading.