Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #545591 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this unforgettable work, Israeli writer Grossman sets a critical juncture in his four narrators' lives against the moral and ethical corrosion of the Israeli occupation.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A much-acclaimed Israeli writer ( The Yellow Wind and See Under: Love , both LJ "Best Books") here offers a tour de force about Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory that is a wrenching but ennobling experience for the reader. Originally published in Hebrew in 1983, the novel probes in devastating fashion both personal and national morality, trust, and truth. Uri, an idealistic young soldier, is serving in an army unit in the West Bank, under the command of Katzman, an enigmatic, embittered commander who is involved with Uri's wife, Shosh. Shosh, who works in a juvenile psychiatric institution, is beset by the death of a client who commits suicide after she has an affair with him. In the meantime, Uri is absorbed by his friendship with Hilmi, an old Arab storyteller who poignantly describes Palestinian life and culture. Hostage-taking, struggles of the heart and mind, and killing are all portrayed, with the falsehoods and fantasies of the players woven deftly into a whole. Grossman tells the story of the Jewish people in Israel and his perceptions of an erosion of their values. A troubling, difficult, but essential book. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/90.
-Molly Abramowitz, Silver Spring, Md.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
“Together with See Under: Love, and his heartfelt The Yellow Wind, these three books form a trilogy by Israel’s finest young writer.” —The New York Times“A brilliantly constructed, hair-raising exploration of the ‘morphology of lies’ in the inextricably linked personal and political worlds of Israel.” —San Francisco Chronicle“Grossman is more than just another talented writer: Like Vaclav Havel, he is a moralist, a man with a conscience whose words cry out for absolute truth and fairness.” —Newsday (New York)“[The Smile of the Lamb] is prophetic. A book which compels the heart and the imagination, as well as the mind.” —Los Angeles Times

Customer Reviews

well written
David Grossman, a very gifted Israeli author, portrays the fragile line that separates the Israeli from the Palestinians in the occupied territories. But this is far more than a political story. Here, an old Arab, while demanding withdrawal from the land held by the Israelis, loves the Jewish soldier he has captured and threatened to kill. And the soldier returns this love with a delicate sense of respect. Fraught with diverse emotions, humor and insights, this book examines the moral ambiguities and human dilemmas that confront the Israelis on a daily basis,never shaking their lengthy history with the land.

wonderful writing
David Grossman, a very gifted Israeli author, portrays the fragile line that separates the Israelis from the Palestinians in the occupied territories. But this is far more than a political story. Here, an old Arab, while demanding withdrawal from the land held by the Iaraelis,comes to love the Jewish soldier he has captured and threatened to kill. And the soldier returns this love with a delicate sense of respect. Fraught with diverse emotions, humor and insights, this book examines the moral ambiguities and human dilemmas that confront the Israelis on a daily basis and never shaking their lengthy history with the land.