Scenes from Village Life: Summary and book reviews of Scenes from Village Life by Amos Oz, plus links to an excerpt from Scenes from Village Life and a biography of Amos Oz.

In the village of Tel Ilan, something is off kilter. An elderly man complains to his daughter that he hears the sound of digging under his house at night. Could it be his tenant, a young Arab? But then the tenant hears the mysterious digging sounds too. The mayor receives a note from his wife: "Don't worry about me." He looks all over, no sign of her. The veneer of new wealth around the village - gourmet restaurants and art galleries, a winery - cannot conceal abandoned outbuildings, disused air raid shelters, rusting farm tools, and trucks left wherever they stopped. Amos Oz's novel-in-stories is a brilliant, unsettling glimpse of what goes on beneath the surface of everyday life. Scenes from Village Life is a parable for Israel, and for all of us.

BookBrowse

While initially these stories seem to be very much about Israeli life and culture, in fact, they are so much more. They speak of relationships each one of us wrestles with at some time - with ourselves, with the land, and with mortality (to name a few). Each one is achingly evocative and haunting, and though all the stories stand alone, main characters in one sometimes appear in the background of another; the idea being that no matter how solitary our lives may seem at times, we are a part of others' narratives as well - past, present, and future.  (Reviewed by BJ Nathan Hegedus).

Full Review (1235 words).

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews All the dead ends make for an unsatisfying collection.   Booklist Filled with tension and allegory, Oz's perceptive tales explore the nuance and alienation of transitioning states.   Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Oz (Rhyming Life and Death) writes characterizations that are subtle but surgically precise, rendering this work a powerfully understated treatment of an uneasy Israeli conscience.   Library Journal Starred Review. Knit into a whole, these stories approach the surreal but don't pass the line; in exquisitely controlled prose... Oz reminds us of the creepy unsureness that underlies all "village" life, rural or urban - and not just in Israel.   New Statesman (UK) An impressive and very affecting achievement... These stories, in their humanity, may do more for Israel than any of the decisions we have been led to expect of its leaders in the months to come.   Jewish Chronicle One of the most powerful books you will read about present-day Israel.

Recent Reader Reviews

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