Kishon, Ephraim "So sorry we won"

Kishon, Ephraim "So sorry we won" (Pardon, wir haben gewonnen. Vom Sechstagekrieg bis zur Siegesparade ein Jahr danach) - 1967

This book was written in 1967, shortly after the Six-Day War. What would Kishon say about the situation today? Much of it is no longer understandable from today's perspective.

In any case, this is not a typical Kishon book. There's no humour. He doesn't make fun of his fellow sufferers, compatriots, family, or anyone else. He tries to see his country from the perspective of a war won. If that interests you, read this book.

From the back cover:

"This book features the satires of Ephraim Kishon and the cartoons of Kariel Gardosh (Dosh), most of which were published in Ma'ariv as comments on the Six-Day war and under its influence. They are now collected in this anthology in their original form."

Brooks, Geraldine "People of the Book"

Brooks, Geraldine "People of the Book" - 2008

This is going to be one of my favourite books this year. Such a wonderful story about a book and its history. I have once read a similar story, well, not a similar story, just a book that tries to follow a piece of art, a painting from today into past until it was created. That was by Susan Vreeland and it was called "Girl in Hyacinth Blue". I loved that one and this was just as interesting.

The main "character" is the Sarajevo Haggada, a Jewish religious book that really exists (see here on Wikipedia or here on The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina website) The word "haggada" is Hebrew for telling, story or account, the book "Haggadah" is a text that describes the order of the Passover Seder.

There are books, even ancient ones, where you know exactly where they come from and who made them. This is not one. The author has put down some ideas and made a wonderful story about it that travels around the whole world. From the Australian conservationist who tries to find some clues that sound just like a crime story we travel back from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Italy, Austria, Spain and to the shores of Ifriqiya (modern day Tunisia, parts of Algeria and Libya). In between, we visit the Untied States and the United Kingdom where the protagonist does not only find out more about the book but also about her family.

I absolutely loved the whole story, how we get to know the different kinds of people who contributed first to the creation of the book and then to the saving of it. Some of the ideas might even be true. Well, we can always dream.

Remarks from the book club:
I partly felt the book was really interesting and wanted to know more about the old stories from history.
The parts about WWII always feel a little too close for comfort anyway.
The author's experience as a journalist shone through the story. But the present day frame-story felt slightly "puff-piece" kind of full with story gaps.
Overall still give it 4/5 or maybe even 4,5/5.

We read this in our international online book club in October 2023.

From the back cover:

"During World War II a Bosnian Muslim risks his life to save the book from the Nazis; it gets caught up in the intrigues of hedonistic 19th-century Vienna; a Catholic priest saves it from burning in the fires of Inquisition. These stories and more make up the secret history of the priceless Sarajevo Haggadah - a medieval Jewish prayer book recovered from the smouldering ruins of the war-torn city.
Now it is in the skilled hands of rare-book restorer Hanna Heath. And while the content of the book interests her, it is the hidden history which captures her imagination. Because to her the tiny clues - salt crystals, a hair, wine stains - that she discovers in the pages and bindings are keys to unlock its mysteries."

Kazantzakis, Nikos "The Last Temptation of Christ"

Kazantzakis, Nikos "The Last Temptation of Christ" (Greek: Ο τελευταίος πειρασμός/O telefteos pirasmos) - 1951

I have read a few books that describe the life of Jesus or his disciples or other contemporaries (most recently "Barabbas"). It's always quite interesting to see how much authors add to the stories and one can imagine that this also happened with the "original".

That doesn't usually bother me either, I think we can all learn from it. But this book didn't grab me at all. There's too much jumping back and forth. That doesn't bother me otherwise either, so it must be the writer (or the translator) who failed to pique my interest.

Boock Description:

"The internationally renowned novel about the life and death of Jesus Christ.

Hailed as a masterpiece by critics worldwide, The Last Temptation of Christ is a monumental reinterpretation of the Gospels that brilliantly fleshes out Christ’s Passion. This literary rendering of the life of Jesus Christ has courted controversy since its publication by depicting a Christ far more human than the one seen in the Bible. He is a figure who is gloriously divine but earthy and human, a man like any other - subject to fear, doubt, and pain.

In elegant, thoughtful prose Nikos Kazantzakis, one of the greats of modern literature, follows this Jesus as he struggles to live out God’s will for him, powerfully suggesting that it was Christ’s ultimate triumph over his flawed humanity, when he gave up the temptation to run from the cross and willingly laid down his life for mankind, that truly made him the venerable redeemer of men."

Hajaj, Claire "Ishmael's Oranges"

Hajaj, Claire "Ishmael's Oranges" - 2014

I had just finished another book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa) when this was suggested as the next one for our book club.

There is not much to be found about the author (she doesn't even have an entry on Wikipedia) except this on Goodreads:

"Claire Hajaj has spent her life building bridges between two worlds, sharing both Palestinian and Jewish heritage. She has lived on four continents and worked for the United Nations in war zones from Burma to Baghdad. A former contributor to the BBC World Service, Claire's writing has also appeared in Time Out and Literary Review. She lives in Beirut, Lebanon."

And this on the German site Lovelybooks:
"Claire Hajaj was born in London in 1973 and feels part of two cultures, Jewish and Palestinian, which she tries to reconcile..."

I would have liked to know how much this book is based on her own life or that of her parents. It always helps to understand a book if you know about the author's background.

I visited Israel in 1986 and remember a lovely time in Jaffa. So, reading about the Palestinian family who had lived there for generations and was expelled, made me incredibly sad. I don't think we can possibly imagine how that must have felt.

Like so many other books about the people of Palestine, the Jews that came to occupy their country, the British that helped them, it can only touch the surface of what is going on. Therefore, we need to read as many books about this as possible and pass them on. This is certainly not the best book I have read about the subject but it was interesting nevertheless. And is probably easier to read for people who don't want to get too many details. If you are interested, check out more of the books I read about this subject under my link Israel/Palestine.

In her acknowledgements, she mentions Adam LeBor and "the wonderful Jaffa, City of Oranges" which I also love.

We read this in our German Book Club in April 2023.

From the back cover:

"It's April 1948, and war hangs over Jaffa. One minute seven-year-old Salim is dreaming of taking his first harvest from the family’s orange tree; the next he is swept away into a life of exile and rage.

Seeking a new beginning in swinging-Sixties London, Salim finds an unexpected love with Jude, a troubled Jewish girl struggling with her own devastating family legacy. The bond between them flourishes in the freedom of the age, bringing the promise of thrilling new worlds. But before long, childhood conflicts and prejudices reawaken to infringe upon their life together, pulling them and their children inexorably back towards the Middle East and its battlegrounds.

From Russia's pogroms, to the Summer of Love and the Middle East’s restless cities, 'Ishmael’s Oranges' follows the journeys of men and women cast adrift by war - to tell the story of two families spanning the crossroad events of modern times, and of the legacy of hatred their children inherit."

Abulhawa, Susan "Against the Loveless World"

Abulhawa, Susan "Against the Loveless World" - 2020

I've read many books about the conflict in Israel/Palestine and the more I read about it, the more upset I get. I grew up with the story that the Palestinians were terrorists who were just out to destroy the Jews. Unfortunately, the story is not that easy.

This was probably one of the toughest books I read on the subject. A Palestinian woman, born outside of her country to refugee parents, who is imprisoned for fighting for her freedom and that of her people. I try to see both sides but that's not easy. Yes, the Jews had to flee Europe. But they did to the Palestinians exactly what had been done to them, chased them out of their houses, out of their country. Shouldn't they know better?

It's even worse for women - well, when is it ever better for women in any situation? Susan Abulhawa is a fantastic author, this is her third book I've been reading and it won't be the last.

Let's just hope that many people read this book who can change something. Although, I very much doubt it.

From the back cover:

"Nahr sits in an Israeli prison. Many in the world outside call her a terrorist; and just as many call her a revolutionary, a hero. But the truth is more complicated …

She was named for the river her mother crossed when she fled Israel's invasion of Palestine, and grew up into a girl who carried in her bone the desperation of being a refugee.

She was a woman who went to Palestine, and found books, friends, politics - and a purpose.

Nahr sits in her cell, and tells her story."

Other books by her that I read:
"Mornings in Jenin" (aka The Scar of David) - 2010
"The Blue Between Sky and Water" - 2015

Lagerkvist, Pär "Barabbas"

Lagerkvist, Pär "Barabbas" (Swedish: Barabbas) - 1950

For the The Classics Spin #33, we were given #18, and this was my novel.

Almost a novella, but this novel needs no more pages. We all know Barabbas, the one in whose place Jesus was crucified. But what do we know about him other than his name? Here Pär Lagerkvist thought about what might have happened to Barabbas afterwards.

The story is believable, many early Christians went the way Barabbas goes in the book. There is the wish to believe, the doubt, the inability to come to terms with what happens. Something that still is in every Christian today, I think.

And even if this is not at all what happened to the protagonist, it's an interesting thought to see what could have been.

They even made a film out of the story, Barabbas was portrayed by Anthony Quinn.

From the back cover:

"Barabbas is the acquitted; the man whose life was exchanged for that of Jesus of Nazareth, crucified upon the hill of Golgotha. Barabbas is a man condemned to have no god. 'Christos Iesus' is carved on the disk suspended from his neck, but he cannot affirm his faith. He cannot pray. He can only say, 'I want to believe.'"

Pär Lagerkvist received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1951 "for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers to the eternal questions confronting mankind".

I contribute to this page: Read the Nobels and you can find all my blogs about Nobel Prize winning authors and their books here.

By the way, this is where I heard about the book in the first place: The Content Reader.

Brooks, Geraldine "Foreign Correspondence"

Brooks, Geraldine "Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over" - 1997

Geraldine Brooks describes how she started writing to many different people from all over the world because she felt so far away from everything. That was the same for me, even though I lived in the middle of Europe. But at the time, the little village in Northern Germany might as well have been on the moon.

Other than that, there wasn't a huge difference in her upbringing and mine. We are about the same age and grew up in similar circumstances, though my parents were purely working class, no former singer or anything, and they were from the same area where they lived and died.

So, I really liked this story because it was also mine. When I was fourteen, I had my first penfriend. She was from Romania, and I met her once even though we are not in touch anymore. But I have two very good penfriends who started writing to me shortly afterwards, from France and the USA, and we are still in touch. The French friend has visited me several times (first alone, then with husband and family) and I have visited her, as well, same thing, first alone, later with husband, then with children.

I have lived abroad for more than half of my life. I think wanting to meet people from other countries stems from my first friendships by letters. I started to learn Esperanto when I got the opportunity and went abroad as soon as I was able to. Having penfriends certainly encouraged me to explore the world further.

But even if you don't belong to the keen letter writers, Geraldine Brooks has a fantastic way of describing her life as well as that of others, totally interesting.

So far, I have only read this book and "March" by Geraldine Brooks. Must change that.

From the back cover:

"As a young girl in a working-class neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks longed to discover the places where history happens and culture comes from, so she enlisted pen pals who offered her a window on adolescence in the Middle East, Europe, and America. Twenty years later Brooks, an award-winning foreign correspondent, embarked on a human treasure hunt to find her pen friends. She found men and women whose lives had been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of mental illness. Intimate, moving, and often humorous, Foreign Correspondence speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world."

Bulgakov, Michail "The Master and Margarita"

Bulgakow, Michail "The Master and Margarita" (Russian: Мастер и Маргарита/Master i Margarita) - 1929-39

When the last "classics spin" number was drawn, I got this book to read. One of my blogger friends (Emma from Words and Peace) recommended I read an edition with many annotations. Since I had the book already (I bought it a couple of years ago when Russia was the theme of a German book fair) and it had no annotations, I searched the net and there are some great sites that explain all the meanings of almost every sentence meticulously.

These pages were especially helpful:
Master & Margarita (in several languages)
Along with much information on the novel, you will also find on this site different films and TV-series based on The Master and Margarita, and subtitled in English by your webmaster.
LitCharts (including a study guide)
Get Abstract (in German)
Inhaltsangaben 24 (in German)

And then there are some good blog posts about the book (I happily include yours if you let me know the link):
Words and Peace, one of my favourite blogs, Emma has a very diverse page and always gives the greatest tips.
Resolute Reader
A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook who reviewed it even twice, first here and then here.

Those sites were very helpful to understand the background of the novel but I think I would have enjoyed it just by itself, as well. And I surely could see some of the links to the Soviet Union. However, being interested in all these subjects, history, politics, religion, it made it even more fascinating.

What a book. Of course, from authors like Bulgakov, you foresee criticism of the Soviet State, it's expected. Bureaucracy is just as much criticized as oppression and everything that deviates from Karl Marx' original idea of communism.

But this book has so many more layers. There is a novel within the novel about Pontius Pilate and Jesus' last days, his friends and foes. The way, the two stories come together, is quite fascinating. There is a huge amount of references to both literature and history.

The book definitely gives us a lot of food for thought. The devil comes visiting Moscow together with some ominous companions, one of them a big black cat. As a result, the whole city is upside down.

I don't think it is possible to explain the concept of the book to anyone. You have to read it yourself, and if you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, definitely have to read it with explanations. It's part fairy tale, part mystic realism, definitely political criticism, part comedy, part tragedy. It's not the easiest of reads but definitely one of the most worthiest.

And it certainly is one of the books I will want to read again.

From the back cover:

"Surely, no stranger work exists in the annals of protest literature than The Master and Margarita. Written during the Soviet crackdown of the 1930s, when Mikhail Bulgakov's works were effectively banned, it wraps its anti-Stalinist message in a complex allegory of good and evil. Or would that be the other way around? The book's chief character is Satan, who appears in the guise of a foreigner and self-proclaimed black magician named Woland. Accompanied by a talking black tomcat and a "translator" wearing a jockey's cap and cracked pince-nez, Woland wreaks havoc throughout literary Moscow. First, he predicts that the head of noted editor Berlioz will be cut off; when it is, he appropriates Berlioz's apartment. (A puzzled relative receives the following telegram: "Have just been run over by streetcar at Patriarch's Ponds funeral Friday three afternoon come Berlioz.") Woland and his minions transport one bureaucrat to Yalta, make another one disappear entirely except for his suit, and frighten several others so badly that they end up in a psychiatric hospital. In fact, it seems half of Moscow shows up in the bin, demanding to be placed in a locked cell for protection.

Meanwhile, a few doors down in the hospital lives the true object of Woland's visit: the author of an unpublished novel about Pontius Pilate. This Master - as he calls himself - has been driven mad by rejection, broken not only by editors' harsh criticism of his novel but, Bulgakov suggests, by political persecution as well. Yet Pilate's story becomes a kind of parallel narrative, appearing in different forms throughout Bulgakov's novel: as a manuscript read by the Master's indefatigable love, Margarita, as a scene dreamed by the poet - and fellow lunatic - Ivan Homeless, and even as a story told by Woland himself. Since we see this narrative from so many different points of view, who is truly its author? Given that the Master's novel and this one end the same way, are they in fact the same book? These are only a few of the many questions Bulgakov provokes, in a novel that reads like a set of infinitely nested Russian dolls: inside one narrative there is another, and then another, and yet another. His devil is not only entertaining, he is necessary: "What would your good be doing if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?"

Unsurprisingly - in view of its frequent, scarcely disguised references to interrogation and terror - Bulgakov's master work was not published until 1967, almost three decades after his death. Yet one wonders if the world was really ready for this book in the late 1930s, if, indeed, we are ready for it now. Shocking, touching, and scathingly funny, it is a novel like no other. Woland may re-attach heads or produce 10-ruble notes from the air, but Bulgakov proves to be the true magician here. The Master and Margarita is a different book each time it is opened. - Mary Park"

It's always interesting to see the different kind of covers from different countries or different times but this one has as many fascinating editions, I just had to put a few together. You can find them all on Goodreads. I think it shows the diversity of the book and how different people perceive it.

Waltari, Mika "The Secret of the Kingdom"

Waltari, Mika "The Secret of the Kingdom" (Finnish: Valtakunnan salaisuus) (The Malinianus Duology) - 1959

This is my third book by Finnish author Mika Waltari, I read all of them in a book club, always suggested by a Finnish member as one of their most important authors.

And it's true, Mika Waltari has some important thoughts to convey, whether it's about religion, philosophy or life itself. You notice this guy knows what he is talking about.

In this book, he describes the life of a Roman citizen who witnesses Jesus' crucifixion and then gets drawn into his circle, meets the apostles and other friends whose lives have been affected by Jesus of Nazareth. He has a great way of describing the story, makes you believe you've been there yourself. Definitely makes you believe that this could be how it was.

Certainly, a great book if you want to explore your faith but also if you just want to delve into the history of Christianity from the outside. This is a very detailed and descriptive story about the passion and its aftermath, starting at Easter, finishing on Pentecost.

I'm not surprised I liked this book because I also liked the other ones I read (The Egyptian, The Dark Angel). A great author.

From the back cover:

"Against a background of the strife-torn land of Judea two thousand years ago, Mika Waltari has written what is certainly his most important novel.

Seeking the meaning to his life in the study of philosophy, the young Roman. Marcus Manilianus, discovers in an Alexandrian library a vast number of predictions, all tending to confirm his own feeling that the world is about to enter upon a new era. Two chance encounters with Jews who proclaim the coming of a world leader whom they call the Messiah or King, cause Marcus to resolve to make a visit to the Holy City of the Jews. He arrives outside Jerusalem in time to see crowds - some curious, some shocked - staring up at three crosses on a nearby mound. Above the center cross, an inscription had been fixed: JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS.

The quest that ensues leads Marcus through all parts of Jerusalem and into contact with men and women of all stations of life who had known this remarkable man. And by degrees, wonderful if strange things are revealed to him of Jesus’ teaching, and he experiences the odd sensation of almost believing in the destiny of this crucified Roman among the alien Jews, Stands alone on the borderline of two worlds, feelings he belongs to neither, and it becomes vital to him to find 'the way, the Kingdom,' to again knowledge and certainty, not merely belief.

What follows, as Marcus pursues his search for the promised secret of the Kingdom, bring to a climax as exciting and deeply moving a novel as Mika Waltari, certainly one of the world’s outstanding historical novelists, has ever written. It is a story of a time long past, yet it deals with a theme as modern as today: the dilemma of modern man and his culture in gaining and retaining a faith. And always present throughout the novel is the splendor, the irony and humor which have so delighted millions of readers of other Waltari novels from The Egyptian to The Etruscan."

We discussed this book in our international online book club in March 2020.

Ahmad, Aeham "The Pianist from Syria"

Ahmad, Aeham "The Pianist from Syria" (aka The Pianist of Yarmouk) (German: Und die Vögel werden singen. Ich, der Pianist aus den Trümmern) - 2017

I have read quite a few books about Palestinians in Israel (see here) but I believe that this is my first book that I read about Palestinians in Syria and how much the war has affected them.

What a tragic, what a sad story. The author grew up as the son of Palestinian refugees in Syria. His father is blind but tries to do everything for his son so he can have a better future than was given to him.

Unfortunately, this was not to be. The Syrian Civil began in 2011, when Aeham Ahmad was just 22. I kept comparing his life to that of my son who is just a year younger than him. We moved him from one country to the next and there was always a school, medical care, recreational facilities, music teachers, sports groups, the Scouts etc. Anything we wanted for him and his younger brother was there.

Not so for the people in Syria, especially not the Palestinian refugees who were gathered together in a part of Damascus, Yarmouk Camp, that was extremely hard if not impossible to leave.

In the end, Aeham Ahmad was able to escape Syria and really lucky that his family was able to follow him within a year. Many have not been so lucky. I fear for all of them.

The memoir is very well written, the author received some help, but you can hear his voice, his despair about all that has happened to him and his friends. I really loved how he mentioned that the German people had been so extremely kind to him and helped him and his family and friends. Like my family and me, most of our friends have always said we need to help as much as possible. This is a personal story that will hopefully make everyone understand that these are people like you and me who have the same need, wishes, hopes, and dreams. We can all work for a better future by sticking together.

From the back cover:

"An astonishing but true account of a pianist’s escape from war-torn Syria to Germany offers a deeply personal perspective on the most devastating refugee crisis of this century.

Aeham Ahmad was born a second-generation refugee - the son of a blind violinist and carpenter who recognized Aeham's talent and taught him how to play piano and love music from an early age.

When his grandparents and father were forced to flee Israel and seek refuge from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict ravaging their home, Aeham’s family built a life in Yarmouk, an unofficial camp to more than 160,000 Palestinian refugees in Damascus. They raised a new generation in Syria while waiting for the conflict to be resolved so they could return to their homeland. Instead, another fight overtook their asylum. Their only haven was in music and in each other.

Forced to leave his family behind, Aeham sought out a safe place for them to call home and build a better life, taking solace in the indestructible bond between fathers and sons to keep moving forward. Heart-wrenching yet ultimately full of hope, and told in a raw and poignant voice, The Pianist from Syria is a gripping portrait of one man’s search for a peaceful life for his family and of a country being torn apart as the world watches in horror."

Abulhawa, Susan "The Blue Between Sky and Water"

Abulhawa, Susan "The Blue Between Sky and Water" - 2015

This is my second book by Susan Abulhawa. I loved "Mornings in Jenin" and was sure this wouldn't be bad, either. And I was not disappointed.

The author tells us about ordinary Palestinians whose lives changed when the Israeli state was formed. All of a sudden, they had no country any more, no rights, nothing. They were pushed from one side to the next and the world looked upon them as troublemakers. I always wonder what others in their situation would have done. Probably nothing else.

We always hear about Palestinians in the news when they have attacked something. We never hear when they have been attacked. The news would be full of them, I guess.

Anyway, this book is about several generations of a Palestinian family, how the different members cope with the changes - or don't cope. It is especially about the women who, like usual, have to carry most of the burden. And they often become stronger with the troubles that are coming their way.

I have friends in Israel and I don't want this to be seen as a criticism against them. But I totally understand the people of Palestine and that they would wish to have their country back. A lot of the troubles in the Middle East could have been avoided, had not some Europeans decided this was the best way to solve their conflicts.

I will definitely read more books by Susan Abulhawa. She is a great story-teller.

From the back cover:

"It is 1947, and Beit Daras, a rural Palestinian village, is home to the Baraka family - oldest daughter Nazmiyeh, brother Mamdouh, dreamy Mariam and their widowed mother. When Israeli forces descend, sending the village up in flames, the family must take the long road to Gaza, in a walk that will test them to their limits.

Sixty years later, in America, Mamdouh's granddaughter Nur falls in love with a doctor. Following him to Gaza, she meets Alwan, who will help Nur discover the ties of kinship that transcend distance - and even death. Told with raw humanity, The Blue Between Sky and Water is a lyrical, devastatingly beautiful story of a family's relocation, separation, survival and love."

Olson, Pamela J. "Fast Times in Palestine"

Olson, Pamela J. "Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland" - 2011

Like most of us growing up in the Western world, Pamela Olson only had heard about the Middle East and all their troubles in the news, in books, always second hand, always full of prejudices and stereotypes. In 2003, she travelled to Palestine and found out for herself what this people has been going through.

The author gives a detailed account about life on the West Bank (and in Gaza) after the wall was erected. What it means for a Palestinian living in a country that is no longer their own. Pamela Olson tells us all about their daily lives and struggles.

Not since "City of Oranges" have I read such a detailed witnessing story about the people from the country that was supposed to be "without people". Same as then, I ask what's the solution? What can be done to help these people. And how can we ever get peace in the holy land? All I can say is that we need more people like Pamela Olson who report back what they see. Maybe it will open some eyes that will make a difference.

But it's not just the interesting topic that makes this story worthwhile reading, the author has a great way of describing everything. She also has her own website and continues her story in a blog called Fast Times in Palestine.

From the back cover:

"Pamela Olson, a small town girl from eastern Oklahoma, had what she always wanted: a physics degree from Stanford University. But instead of feeling excited for what came next, she felt consumed by dread and confusion. This irresistible memoir chronicles her journey from aimless ex-bartender to Ramallah-based journalist and foreign press coordinator for a Palestinian presidential candidate.

This book illuminates crucial years of Israeli-Palestinian history, from the death of Yasser Arafat to the Gaza Disengagement to the Hamas election victory. Its griping narrative focuses not only on violence, terror, and social and political upheavals but also on the daily rounds of house parties, concerts, barbecues, weddings, jokes, harvests, and romantic drama that happen in between.

Funny, gorgeous, shocking and galvanizing, Fast Times in Palestine challenges the way we think not only about the Middle East but about human nature and our place in the world."

Books she loves:
Kanaaneh, Dr. Hatim "A Doctor in Galilee"
Jundi, Sami al; Marlowe, Jen "The Hour of Sunlight"
Horowitz, Adam; Ratner, Lizzy; Weiss, Weiss (ed.) "The Goldstone Report" (United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict)
Abulhawa, Susan "Mornings in Jenin"
Pappe, Ilan "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"
Kricorian, Nancy "Zabelle"
Sagan, Carl "Cosmos"
Johnstone, Keith "Impro"
Madson, Patricia Ryan "Improv Wisdom"
Thoreau, Henry David "Walden and Civil Disobedience"
Lee, Harper "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Abarbanell, Stephan "Displaced"

Abarbanell, Stephan "Displaced" (German: Morgenland) - 2015

What a highly interesting book. I always like to learn about history and what happens in other countries. Or even what happened in my own country a long time before I was born.

Well, this book brought me both. A young Jewish woman who grew up in Palestine before it was Israel. A young woman who became a member of the resistance, fighting for their own country. But now it is 1946, the war is over and the world is not what it used to be. So many questions, so many problems. Someone is looking for his brother, doesn't believe he was killed, many books have lost their owners, who do they belong to? Nobody knows how things will go on, especially not the British who have to deal with all these Jews who want to get a visa for their protectorate. The story leads us to many stations, former concentration camps as well as few kibbuzim in Germany, we meet many people who try to organize the new world, Americans and British but also Germans.

The author manages to bring life into a dark time, his protagonist, Lilya Wasserfall, is a woman with hope, a woman with determination. The story is fascinating and engaging, it keeps you enthralled, you want to know what's going on.

This is Stephan Abarbanell's first novel. I hope he'll write more.

From the back cover:

"It is 1946, and the full horrors of the previous six years are slowly coming to light.

But in Jerusalem, Elias Lind can't accept that his brother Raphael really did die in a concentration camp. He has evidence that the scientist is still alive but, unable to search for him himself, he persuades a young member of the Jewish resistance to help.

Lilya's search for Raphael takes her from the dusty streets of Jerusalem to the heart of political London, from US-controlled Munich to an overcrowded and underfunded displaced persons camp, before leading her to the devastated shell of Berlin itself. But before long Lilya realises that she isn't the only one searching for the missing scientist; a mysterious pursuer is hot on her heels, and it soon becomes clear that Raphael's life isn't the only one in question . . ."

In the book, the protagonist mentions a few German books she read to improve her German:
Mann, Thomas "Tonio Kröger"
Kästner, Erich "Fabian"
Stifter, Adalbert "Nachsommer"
Baum, Vicki "Menschen im Hotel", "Tanzpause", "Welt ohne Sünde"

Grossman, David "The Zig Zag Kid"

Grossman, David "The Zig Zag Kid" (Hebrew: יש ילדים זיגזג/Jesh Jeladim) - 1994

A fascinating story about a boy growing up and finding his way, finding answers to so many questions he didn't even know he had. Nonno, the zig zag kid, the kid that is different from other kids, and not only because his mother died when he was little.

He is meant to go and visit his uncle in Haifa but instead gets kidnapped by a Romanian criminal. Only, he doesn't have the feeling he is kidnapped, it's all a big adventury.

The story is mysterious, I couldn't stop reading. It's funny, there is so much to laugh about. I especially like Felix Glick, the kidnapper whose first and last name both mean luck, one in Latin, the other in yiddish. David Grossman manages to write in a fascinating way, he captures your attention, makes you think about what will happen next. We try to follow the mindset of the 13 year old Nonno who is impressed by his new surroundings. And with the help of this brilliant writer, we even achieve that.

I read this book in the German translation. This was only the second book I read by this author but certainly not the last one.

From the back cover: "Twelve-year-old Nonny Feuerberg's father is the world's greatest detective, wholly dedicated to the war on crime. Nonny aspires to follow in his father's footsteps but, to his father's dismay, his wild side keeps breaking out. Then all of a sudden Nonny finds himself traveling on a train with the magnetic, elegant Felix Glick, international outlaw extraordinaire. Not until Felix has hijacked the locomotive and whisked Nonny off on a quest for the trademark purple scarf of the great actress Lola Ciperola does Nonny realize that he is in the hands of a kindly and fascinating kidnapper - and that, though he himself knows almost nothing about his own mother, who died when he was a baby, both Felix and Lola seem to know a lot about her.

A hijacked train whisks an imaginative young boy on an unforgettable adventure, in which he makes discoveries about his own family's past and a wild woman who rescued his Israeli policeman father from a vat of chocolate."

I also read "To the End of the Land" (אשה בורחת מבשורה/Isha Nimletet Mi'Bshora) by David Grossman.

David Grossman received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis) in 2010.

Joinson, Suzanne "The Photographer's Wife"

Joinson, Suzanne "The Photographer's Wife" - 2016

I stumbled upon this book in a bookshop and liked the title and the cover. My husband is a huge hobby photographer and so, I am "The Photographer's Wife". The cover shows the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The story takes place in a country that I always like to read about, Israel, or Palestine back in the time the story starts. I just had to read it.

I just read another book ("The Night Watch") that was moving back in time and I've read others where the story hopped back and forth. I usually don't mind it but in both these cases, it was weird, almost as if they want you to live with a suspense until the end of the book, make it more interesting. However, it wasn't more interesting, I found it got more boring this way.

I would have thought, this story contributes more to understand what was going on in this country before the second world war, after all, that's what it says on the back cover. And it does. Prue, the protagonist of the story, is only eleven years old in 1920 and her father, a British architect, wants to redesign Jerusalem. She is caught up between the British and Germans and the local inhabitants and gets used by both sides.

As I say, the book didn't fascinate me much. The story seemed bland despite a lot of things going on. I heard Suzanne Joinson's book "A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar" was a national bestseller and that she received many awards for her writings but I doubt I will pick up one of her books anytime soon.

From the back cover: "Jerusalem, 1920: in an already fractured city, eleven-year-old Prudence feels the tension rising as her architect father launches a wildly eccentric plan to redesign the Holy City by importing English parks to the desert. From beneath tearoom tables, she eavesdrops on  the city's elite, as British colonials, exiled Armenians and German officials line up the pieces in a political game: a game destined to end in disaster.
When Prue's father employs a British pilot, William Harrington, to take aerial photographs of the city, Prue is uncomfortably aware of the attraction that sparks between him and Eleanora, the English wife of a famous Jerusalem photographer - a nationalist intent on removing the British.
Years later, in 1937, Prue is an artist living by the sea with her young son when Harrington pays her a surprise visit. What he reveals unravels her world, and she must follow the threads back to secrets long-ago buried in Jerusalem. Set in the complex period between the world wars, The Photographer's Wife is a powerful story of betrayal: between father and daughter, between husband and wife, and between nations and people."

Abulhawa, Susan "Mornings in Jenin"

Abulhawa, Susan "Mornings in Jenin" (aka The Scar of David) - 2010

Everyone who is only slightly interested in world peace should read this and see how much heartache there can be, how much trouble things can cause if not thought through well enough.

The problem started long before the Jews were sent to Palestine, to "a land without a people for a people without a land". The difficulty with that, it wasn't a land without a people, Palestinians had lived there for many many years. And you would have understood if they had had their new settlers integrate into the communities but this is not what happens and we are taught something completely different from what they keep teaching us.

If you read this book, you will no longer see the world in Black and White, the Palestinians as the bad guys and the Jews as the poor people who only want peace.

I have been to Israel and I have many Jewish friends. I love them all, I love the country, would have loved to stay. I have read several other books and articles about Israel and its neighbouring countries, both from the Jewish as well as the Palestinian side, so I am not here to judge.

But this book opens your eyes and shows you that there is a lot more to politics in Israel than we shall ever know.

It's a heartbreaking novel that shows hatred and tear but also love and joy, that shows how people struggle even through the biggest hardships and some make it through nevertheless. The characters are so well described, you start loving each and every single one of them.

It is so difficult to describe this book and really give it credit perfectly. All I can say is: Read it!

Movie rights have been bought but not yet been realized.

From the back cover:

"Palestine, 1948. A mother clutches her six-month-old son as Israeli soldiers march through the village of Ein Hod. In a split second, her son is snatched from her arms and the fate of the Abulheja family is changed forever. Forced into a refugee camp in Jenin and exiled from the ancient village that is their lifeblood, the family struggles to rebuild their world. Their stories unfold through the eyes of the youngest sibling, Amal, the daughter born in the camp who will eventually find herself alone in the United States; the eldest son who loses everything in the struggle for freedom; the stolen son who grows up as an Israeli, becoming an enemy soldier to his own brother.

Mornings in Jenin is a devastating novel of love and loss, war and oppression, and heartbreak and hope, spanning five countries and four generations of one of the most intractable conflicts of our lifetime."

Suggested reading from the book with some added ones from me (not all about Israel but probably all worthwhile):
Barakat, Ibrisam "Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood" - 2007
Barghouti, Mourid "I Saw Ramallah" - 1997
Hosseini, Khaled "The Kite Runner" - 2003
Hosseini, Khaled "A Thousand Splendid Suns" - 2007
Hosseini, Khaled "And the Mountains Echoed" - 2013
Karmi, Ghada "In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story" - 2002
Laird, Elizabeth "A Little Piece of Ground" - 2003
LeBor, Adam "City of Oranges" - 2006
Nusseibeh, Sari "Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life" - 2007
Said Makdisi, Jean "Teta, Mother, and Me: Three Generations of Arab Women" - 2004
Said, Edward "Out of Place: A Memoir" - 1999
Shehadeh, Raja "Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape" - 2008
Tolan, Sandy "The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East" - 2006

Talshir, Anat "If I Forget Thee"

Talshir, Anat "About the Night" aka "If I Forget Thee" (Hebrew: אם אשכך ירושלים/Im Eshkahekh) - 2010

A beautiful story about a love that overcomes all obstacles, even though a lot of problems do occur anyway. This book doesn't just tell the love story of Lila and Elias, it also tells the story of Israel, of the Jewish and Palestinian inhabitants of this country's difficult history. I have read a lot of books about this particular part of the world and I always find it fascinating but this was really personal.

Of course, with a background like this, it can only be a sad love story but it is beautiful nonetheless.

A very important part in their lives is played by Nomi, a young neighbour girl who represents the new generation. We also learn a lot about life in Israel today.

Anat Talshir is a journalist who has received several awards for her investigative documentaries. This is her first novel and I hope she will write more because I would love to read more from her.

From the back cover:

"Awarded the Israeli Bookseller Association's Gold Prize

In Jerusalem, in the final days of the British Mandate for Palestine, a man and a woman meet on a grandstand overlooking a parade marking the anniversary of the inauguration of King George VI. Lila Cassuto, a young Jewish woman from an impoverished family, and Elias Riani, an Arab tea merchant with a distinguished pedigree, begin a love affair. But soon war breaks out and Lila and Elias find themselves on opposite sides of a divided city that will be reunited only nineteen years later. Can their love survive the painful and turbulent years of separation and change?

The only party to the secret of their great love is Nomi, the young daughter of Lila’s friend Margo. Nomi walks through life unnoticed but noticing everyone and everything around her, and she becomes the repository for the lovers’ letters of longing, and the person to whom Elias turns with his life’s final request.

IF I FORGET THEE is an impeccably written love story set against the bitter conflict over Jerusalem. With its vivid historical context, this poignant novel resonates long after the last page."

Ephraim Kishon - Humorist and Satirist

I have a long lasting love affair with Ephraim Kishon. It started in secondary school which is about the age of ten in Germany. I had a wonderful German teacher who is probably responsible for my love of languages, well, party. But the one thing I will always remember him for, he would always read us a couple of Kishon stories before the holidays. If we had German on the last day before we broke up, that's what we would get. I was always hoping to have German on that last day.

Because, our teacher would read us a story by his favourite author. Ephraim Kishon. Born 1924 in Budapest. Being Jewish, he was brought into several concentration camps during World War II but managed to escape during a transport and thus survived the Holocaust.

Despite his sad story, Ephraim Kishon became one of the most famous satirists, at least in Germany. People loved him. I have seen him in several interviews where he would always talk in his quiet way, in perfect German with a lovely slight Hungarian accent that made him even more lovable.

Over the years, I have read many of his books, they are usually short stories you can read in a couple of minutes but every single one of them is fabulous. They often include his family (Sara, "The Best Wife of All" and the children Rafi, Amir and Renana) but most of all he talks about the "little man" from the street, the guy next door, he makes fun of everyone but most of all of himself.

Some of his books have been turned into movies. "The Blaumilch Canal" (also known as "The Big Dig") received a Golden Globe.

I love his stories. Several of them are available in English. If you want a laugh, give him a chance. Here is a first example, one of his quotes: "When you start to look like your passport photo, you should go on holidays."

Sadly, Ephraim Kishon is no longer with us. He passed away in 2005 in Switzerland.

These are some of his books in English:
His reputation precedes him - 1953 (Play)
Thousand of Gadia and Gadia - 1954
Black on White - 1957 (Play)
Do not worry - 1957
It all depends - 1958
No word to Morgenstein - 1960 (Play)
He and She - 1963
Somersaults - 1964
Bone in the throat - 1966
So sorry we won! - 1967
Take the plug out - 1968 (Play)
For - 1970
Oh, winners - 1970
Department of Ephraim Kishon - 1972
Oh, oh, Juliet - 1972 (Play)
My Family Right or Wrong - 1977
Family Book - 1980
Seven Comedies - 1981
Satire book I - 1981
Satire book II - 1991
Satire book III - 1992
Hairy, hell - 1998
Book of Travels - 2003
Open for renovation - 2004 (Play)
Picasso's sweet revenge - 2004
The Policeman - 2009 (Play)

I just read "Kein Applaus für Podmanitzki. Satirisches" [No Applause for Podmanitzki] - 1973 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My German reviews:
Kishon, Ephraim "Almost the Truth" (GE: Beinahe die Wahrheit) - 1985
- "Kishon for all occasions. 327 useless pieces of wisdom" (GE: Kishon für alle Fälle. 327 unbrauchbare Lebensweisheiten) - 1987
- "My Friend Jossele and Other New Satires" (GE: Mein Freund Jossele und andere neue Satiren) - 1980
- "Next year everything will be different" (GE: Im neuen Jahr wird alles anders) - 1982
- "No Applause for Podmanitzki" (GE: Kein Applaus für Podmanitzki) - 1973
- "No Oil, Moses?" (GE: Kein Öl, Moses?) - 1974
- "So sorry we won" (GE: Pardon, wir haben gewonnen. Vom Sechstagekrieg bis zur Siegesparade ein Jahr danach) - 1967

Seth, Vikram "Two Lives"

Seth, Vikram "Two Lives" - 2005

I had already read two novels by Vikram Seth before, "A Suitable Boy" and "An Equal Music", both of which are completely different but really good.

In this work, the author describes not just the life of his great-uncle and his Jewish wife, he describes his own life, he describes the life and death of ordinary people during the holocaust as well as the terrible fate of the Jews. But he also describes life in India pre- and post independence. Quite an undertaking.

Vikram Seth makes it extremely easy to follow the paths of Shanti and Henny, their families and friends through a whole century and several continents. He doesn't leave out any detail, relying on personal experience as well as interviews and old letters.

We get to know the three characters, yes we have to include the author, too, pretty well. Vikram Seth leaves no stone unturned, doesn't leave out a single character or incident that might seem too trivial at the moment but is important later on. We get a good insight into life before and during World War II both in Germany and in England, about the war itself and about the concentration camps. Also, and I found that even more interesting as we don't often get to read about it, life after the war in both England and Germany.

What can I say, a fantastic book. If the author ever writes another biography, I should gladly read it. Actually, I am going to put all his books on my wishlist.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Two Lives is the story of a century and of a love affair across a racial divide. It tells of the extraordinary lives of Vikram Seth's great-uncle Shanti, brought up in India and sent to Berlin in the 1930s to study, and of his great-aunt Henny, whose German-Jewish family took Shanti in as a lodger. What follows is an astonishing tapestry of India, the Third Reich and the Second World War, Auschwitz and the Holocaust, Israel and Palestine, Post-war Germany and modern Britian."

A quote from the book which the author found at the Holocaust Memorial Arch in the Memorial garden in Hendon Park, London:
"Lezikaron. The meaning refers tot he importance of looking forward as well as remembering the past."

Grjasnowa, Olga "All Russians Love Birch Trees"

Grjasnowa, Olga "All Russians Love Birch Trees" (German: Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt) - 2012 

I heard about this book on the German radio, a journalist (Christine Westermann) who talks about special books recommended it. I love her suggestions and I liked the title, so I wanted to read the book.

The protagonist is a young woman not unlike the author. She grew up in Azerbaijan and speaks several languages. So does Masha, our main character. She lives in Frankfurt with her boyfriend. After a tragedy, she goes to Israel where she tries to settle. Her home could be everywhere, yet, she finds it is nowhere. She has to come to terms with being from an immigrant family from the big Soviet Union, being Jewish and all that involves including her family's history both in Azerbaijan as well as in Germany, But she also describes the way she is treated in Germany, how her family lives there. Should be an interesting read for young people.

It is not the story as such that is so extraordinary, it's the sequence of events and the dreams of a woman, the search for happiness. A story well worth reading. That is probably the main reason why this has not just been translated into various other languages but that one of the languages is English.

A captivating story that I read in the original German.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover: (contains spoilers)

"Set in Frankfurt, All Russians Love Birch Trees follows a young immigrant named Masha. Fluent in five languages and able to get by in several others, Masha lives with her boyfriend, Elias. Her best friends are Muslims struggling to obtain residence permits, and her parents rarely leave the house except to compare gas prices. Masha has nearly completed her studies to become an interpreter, when suddenly Elias is hospitalized after a serious soccer injury and dies, forcing her to question a past that has haunted her for years. Olga Grjasnowa has a unique gift for seeing the funny side of even the most tragic situations. With cool irony, her debut novel tells the story of a headstrong young woman for whom the issue of origin and nationality is immaterial—her Jewish background has taught her she can survive anywhere. Yet Masha isn’t equipped to deal with grief, and this all-too-normal shortcoming gives a particularly bittersweet quality to her adventures."