The Continuing Silence of a Poet

In this diverse collection of stories, A.B. Yehoshua provides a variety of settings, characters and situations, from the commonplace to the bizarre. A common thread in each story is a mounting sense of dread, even if outwardly nothing of tremendous importance is occurring: a father intercepts his daughter's boyfriend's letters, a lecturer visits a missile base in the Sinai and is ignored, a commander refuses to command his troops in the field. In Yehoshua's fictional world, even small actions are mired in paralysis. In a nation surrounded by enemies, and in a society fractured by major issues of religion and ethnic origin, even small gestures become fraught with urgency.

AB Yehoshua is arguably Israel's greatest living writer of fiction. The title story of this work," The Continuous Silence of the Poet" is a tremendously moving one, a small masterpiece. It tells of an aging poet's relation to his retarded son, and is done in a restrained and beautiful way. Yehoshua is a first- rate storyteller and creator of character- though he sometimes special pleads for his particular political take of the world. Nonetheless when he is at his best he is one of the best now writing today.

I got my "hands" on this author by chance, as it was totally unknown to me. It was a lucky chance and I cannot help but recommending it to someone else. Melancholic, surrealisticprotestation of a sensitive man against a life that he find heavy and meaningless, Yeoshua's works will charm your soulA beautiful demonstration that Isreael is not only the evil, ugly face of Sharon.

A wonderful collection for both seasoned Yehoshua fans and first-timers! Not only will the stories and their characters stay with you, but also the beautiful and strangely sad evocations of time and place - kibbutzim of yesteryear, Jerusalem in the rain ... Yehoshua also offers valuable insights into the Israeli heart and soul, using an elegant simplicity devoid of stereotyping. These stories are profound and delicate, occasionally shocking and, for the most part, unforgettable.

This is a dark and extremely moving book. Most of the short stories in this book operate on two levels, the micro-level of the characters within the story -- and on the macro-level as a commentary on the Jewish people. This is an extraodinary work by a wonderful writer. Buy it -- it's money well spent