Open Heart

The central pivot upon which the plot depends is disgusting, unbelievable, but, oddly, did NOT keep me from finishing the book, which was a page-turner. I read ALL 500 pages with interest; there was something engaging on each page. However, the book is marred by its plot device of having a 29 year old medical resident fall in lust with his hospital administator's wife. The wife is always presented as helpless, dependent, stubborn, plumpish and with her belly hanging out, so that the constant refrain of Dr. Rubin's love for this woman made him and all else seem contrived and ridiculous. The odd thing is that Yehoshua is aware of, and harps on, the inexplicable nature of Rubin's love, so that I realized the book is supposed to be symbolic: the "impossible" love standing for spiritual reality, which also seems "impossible;" but, in order for that unspoken comparison to work, there has to be credibility in the plot. The plot is only credible in those portions where Yehoshua did a lot of research to make the medical angle resonate; but the plump, self-absorbed love-object, Dori, remains completely unappealing throughout, yet Dr. Rubin thinks of little else. The lust the young doctor developes and pursues with this woman makes him dishonest, dishonorable, compulsive, and immoral. The author tries to insert the idea that Lazar's soul has taken over young Rubin, but this is toward the end and is unconvincing and contrived. I don't know why I finished the book. I did not mind the ending at all. The helpless, narcissistic "Dori" finally -on almost the last page- says she wants to be alone. Her horror of being alone was also the main attraction for her husband, who - she finally says- smoothered her with his love. I found the woman repugnant, which is also Dr. Rubin's first impression. Their trip to India, somehow, is supposed to account for his flip-flop into love. Dori's husband, we find, used to put his entire hospital at her disposal, she being unable to write bills, use household applicances, etc. Rubin, in picking up the director's soul- would naturally want to clean up after this pampered and stupid woman, making him a suitable companion. He ends up -to wind down the plot- too much like Lazar. I found it impossible to believe that a woman married almost 40 years would respond to Rubin at all, or that Rubin would be struck by her, even on a soul level. That Dori finally says something that makes sense at the end, and Rubin will be able to let go of his passion, thanks to his own mother retreiving his own daughter from India, where his crazy wife has taken her, is a good ending for a senseless plot.

With this novel, Yehoshua again returns to exploring the themes of Love and Identity, this time in a more intimate setting. The impossible, almost grotesque love of a young doctor (Benjy) to the middle-aged mother of his patient is described in detailed realism, yet the story is imbued with a sense of mysticism and mystery. Identities and feelings are exchanged and mixed through blood transfusions, and Love invades one's being as if from an external source. Yehoshua captures the profound mystery permeating "regular" people and situations. The many faces of Love, as well as its imitations, limitations and glaring absences are examined without flinching. Benjy is torn between desolate loneliness and identity-devouring symbiosis; the alternative path of co-existence with autonomy (offered by the independent Michaela) seems to him somehow incompatible with Love.The Hebrew title of this novel is "The Return from India"; passages infused with Eastern spirituality and the transmigration of souls contrast with minute, surgically-precise medical descriptions and all-too-earthly human ambitions and professional rivalries. The narrative unfolds slowly, luxuriously, allowing the reader to become completely immersed in Yehoshua's world. A wonderful, richly rewarding book.

Any book that holds my attention for 500 pages must have something going for it. I am an impatient reader and critical, but I enjoyed reading about Benjy, even if he was whiny and ungrateful. The scenes in India and London are well done, and his wife is an interesting character. The author's italicized chapter beginnings are too mystical for me. I quit reading them after two or three. If one of them had prefaced the first chapter, I never would have taken this book out of the library.

While studying in Israel I took a class with A.B. Yehoshua. I became interested in his writing, and I have read almost everything that he has written. His writing is always beautiful and mesmorizing. This book is his best. The story holds you from beginning to end, and excites your imagination. Yehoshua's writing has a way of transporting you into the world of the characters. I would give it a 10, except for the fact the ending is a little disappointing. Other than the ending I absolutely loved this book and strongly recommend it along with any of his other books.