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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
A verse-play written by a Israeli author and translated from the Hebrew. The depths of grief are explored through a restless father who has lost his son and later encompasses the entire town. We all hold grief, but in this world, the pain of losing children is specifically explored through anger, repetition and questioning.
“He is dead,
He is
Dead. But
His death,
His death
Is not
Dead.” (p. 192).
“He is dead,
He is
Dead. But
His death,
His death
Is not
Dead.” (p. 192).
I was not wholly prepared for this book. It is part play, part poetry, and part song, and it is about grief and mourning and loss. It hit me hard and I raced through it. I almost gave up near the beginning, because I wasn't fully clear with what was actually going on, but I am glad I stuck through it.
It is heavy, but it captures grief in an unique but real way.
It is heavy, but it captures grief in an unique but real way.
Este pentru a doua oară când citesc cartea aceasta din care tot am rămas cu o confuzie severă, datorată amestecului de proză, dramaturgie și gen liric. Față de prima dată am reușit să înțeleg mai bine priveghiul și jalea care se desfășoară în carte, care se poate rezuma în următorul fragment: "...limba
doliului meu
e poezia."
Cartea prezintă personajele în stil dramaturgic și cu cât reușim să urmărim povestea ne dăm seama de cele cinci stagii ale doliului în urma pierderii cuiva drag(în carte se referă la copii personajelor): negarea, furia, negocierea, depresia și acceptarea).
Aceste trăiri intense sunt descrise cu ajutorul suprarealismului și a rimei în alb, lucru care îl face puțin mai greu de înțeles.
În ciuda faptului că cartea este una scurtă (200 pagini) mi-a luat 4 zile că să o citesc și pot spune că am digerat-o foarte greu.
doliului meu
e poezia."
Cartea prezintă personajele în stil dramaturgic și cu cât reușim să urmărim povestea ne dăm seama de cele cinci stagii ale doliului în urma pierderii cuiva drag(în carte se referă la copii personajelor): negarea, furia, negocierea, depresia și acceptarea).
Aceste trăiri intense sunt descrise cu ajutorul suprarealismului și a rimei în alb, lucru care îl face puțin mai greu de înțeles.
În ciuda faptului că cartea este una scurtă (200 pagini) mi-a luat 4 zile că să o citesc și pot spune că am digerat-o foarte greu.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
“The passing time is painful. I have lost the art of moving simply, naturally, within it. I am swept back against its flow. Angry, vindictive, it pierces me all the time, all the time with its spikes.”
Long before I planned a second trip to Israel, I knew that I was interested in David Grossman’s books. He is considered one of Israeli’s top authors and he is very involved in the peace movement in Israel/Palestine. I had picked up To the End of the Land several times, but never got very far.
I decided that I might find this story more accessible, mainly because it is short. I was so wrong. First of all, the tale is told in verse, or maybe as a play. It is a hybrid and I found that confusing. Secondly, this novel is dealing with death and grief. Nothing would have made this an easy read.
However, I was alone, up in the air, willing to surrender to the book. I could have quit, but I decided to just give in to what Grossman was saying. There is something about being isolated on the airplane that helped me just read and absorb.
I have not lost a child to death. I had a miscarriage almost 35 years ago, but the baby did not seem entirely real. Grossman’s son died in 2004 in a military action in the Second Lebanon War. To lose a son, someone you have known for about twenty years – I can’t even imagine the pain.
In an interview in the New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/09/27/the-unconsoled), Grossman says, “It’s such a major part of my life now, grief. It’s hard to say the word. Separation from Uri, learning to accept what happened—I have to confront it. It’s even my responsibility as a father to him. I cannot run away.”
Grossman is a powerful writer. He is willing to open his life and share it with the world. Although it was a difficult read, I have a better understanding of how some people deal with death and grief. I am grateful to Grossman.
Long before I planned a second trip to Israel, I knew that I was interested in David Grossman’s books. He is considered one of Israeli’s top authors and he is very involved in the peace movement in Israel/Palestine. I had picked up To the End of the Land several times, but never got very far.
I decided that I might find this story more accessible, mainly because it is short. I was so wrong. First of all, the tale is told in verse, or maybe as a play. It is a hybrid and I found that confusing. Secondly, this novel is dealing with death and grief. Nothing would have made this an easy read.
However, I was alone, up in the air, willing to surrender to the book. I could have quit, but I decided to just give in to what Grossman was saying. There is something about being isolated on the airplane that helped me just read and absorb.
I have not lost a child to death. I had a miscarriage almost 35 years ago, but the baby did not seem entirely real. Grossman’s son died in 2004 in a military action in the Second Lebanon War. To lose a son, someone you have known for about twenty years – I can’t even imagine the pain.
In an interview in the New Yorker (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/09/27/the-unconsoled), Grossman says, “It’s such a major part of my life now, grief. It’s hard to say the word. Separation from Uri, learning to accept what happened—I have to confront it. It’s even my responsibility as a father to him. I cannot run away.”
Grossman is a powerful writer. He is willing to open his life and share it with the world. Although it was a difficult read, I have a better understanding of how some people deal with death and grief. I am grateful to Grossman.
DISCLAIMER* I was not the intended audience for this book. I think a large part of my low rating was that I was pretty confused the whole time, and I also didn’t understand the plot or even if there was one. I know that could have been just my inability to understand. I feel for all these parents but I do not relate, having never lost a child myself, and therefore could hardly relate. For me I had to push through the book, but it could be beneficial for a parent going through the mourning process.
Raw emotion and what felt like an ultra-personal look into Grossman's grieving. Not pleasurable to read because of the intensity and sometimes wandering nature of his words but 4 stars for the very different approach to presenting a person's grief and sadness.
Gorgeous and devastating.
One of the most beautiful and hard books I've ever read.
One of the most beautiful and hard books I've ever read.