Product Description

Nonny Feuerberg's father is the world's greatest detective, wholly dedicated to the war on crime. Nonny trains himself to follow in his father's footsteps, but to his father's dismay his wild side keeps breaking out. Then 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 although 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1848120 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Library Journal
Noted for both his provocative journalism (e.g., The Yellow Wind, LJ 4/15/88) and his fiction (e.g., The Book of Common Grammar, LJ 4/15/94), Israeli writer Grossman here offers an imaginative new tale whereby the rebellious son of a detective is whisked away by a friendly kidnapper on the trail of the trademark purple scarf of actress Lola Ciperola.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
"Zigzag kids" don't fit into the symmetrical worlds of school and society. Nonny, son of a by-the-book Jerusalem cop and a free-spirited mom, is one such kid, and as he approaches his Bar Mitzvah, Nonny's life undergoes its grandest zigzag yet. Embarked on a train trip to Haifa and knowing that a birthday surprise has been arranged by his father, Nonny is not particularly shocked when the charismatic Felix appears to stop the train at gunpoint and whisk him away in a limousine. Part of the surprise, he figures. Wrong. The kidnapper is his father's nemesis, a master thief who just happens to be Nonny's grandfather. Felix takes Nonny on a picaresque coming-of-age journey into the boy's past--and that of his long-dead mother, whose crime-tainted history has been buried by Nonny's father. Despite a too-elaborate premise and a few moments that strain credibility, Israeli novelist Grossman's inventive tale is a rollicking delight, combining on-the-road adventure with meaty reflection on what it means to be happy. Bill Ott

From Kirkus Reviews
Something new from the acclaimed Israeli author of, most recently, The Book of Intimate Grammar (1994): an Alice-in- Wonderlandlike adventure tale expressing a 13-year-old boy's family confusions, fears, and fantasies. The story begins as motherless Amnon ``Nonny'' Feuerberg sits aboard a train that will take him from his home in Jerusalem to Haifa for an extended visit with his uncle, a ``distinguished educator'' and author. Nonny's widowed father, a police detective, wants some time alone with his fretful mistress (and secretary) Gagi--who, Nonny believes, is preparing to dump her undemonstrative and indifferent lover. The overimaginative boy rehearses in his mind conversations he's sure they must be having--and shortly experiences outrageous occurrences that, we gradually realize, are fantasized extensions of things he has half-heard and half- understood. For example, Nonny observes an eerie exchange of identities between a uniformed policeman and the criminal handcuffed to him, then is taken in tow (if not ``kidnapped'') by Felix Glick, a 70ish dandy who identifies himself as a master criminal, brings his young companion to the home of famous actress Lola Ciperola (who, not at all coincidentally, is Gabi's idol), and eventually reveals his own relationship to Nonny's heritage. These picaresque doings are frequently interrupted by Nonny's recall of earlier escapades (such as the time when his dream of becoming ``the first Israeli matador'' led to an embarrassing assault on a neighbor's cow). In piecemeal fashion, this descent into memories and dreams clarifies Nonny's inchoate knowledge of his long-dead beautiful mother: specifically, her tainted past and how it has intensified his desperate need to know who he is (``I was the son of a policeman and a criminal,'' he painfully concludes). Not nearly as much fun as it sounds. Grossman's fifth novel is so arch and opaque that it fails to draw the reader in. By the time we understand the motives behind Nonny's wild inventions, we've stopped caring about him. (First printing of 75,000; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Excellent
Though I read it in the Hebrew, the story was so rich and intriguing that the translation sure transmits the wonder and excitement of this book. Through style and story, Zizag Kid is a success.

Wonderful, Joyful coming of age novel set in Israel
I teach 8th grade literature at a Jewish Day School, so I am always looking for high quality literature that will speak to 13 year olds, and if it has some Jewish content, all the better. This is by far my students' favorite book of the year. We read it at the end of the year as they are getting ready to transition into high school, and it offers great discussion opportunities. But it is by no means a children's book--I loved reading it in its own right, as did my principal. In fact, another teacher walked into the Teacher's Lounge and saw it and said, "Oh, you're reading that! He's one of my favorite authors!" She was surprised to learn I was teaching the book. What a joy to find a book that speaks to young adults and adults alike!

Lovely
Let me start by applauding an excellent translation (from the Hebrew) by Betsy Rosenberg. Only once or twice in reading this humorous coming of age tale did I recall it was a translation, which is always a good sign. The novel is written from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy just about to have his Bar Mitzvah in late '60 or early '70s Israel. Nonny is an only child, raised by a workaholic policeman father and his secretary girlfriend. At first we know little more than this, as the boy is placed by himself on a train to Haifa. Then, some odd events occur which had me worried that the book was headed into magical realism. Fortunately, this is not the case, but the boy is involved in a wild several days where it is not clear what is truth and what is deception. The boy's character and the mystery of his mother is unveiled with in tantalizing tidbits. For me the tension mounted and mounted all the way to the end, when the boy fully learns and understands his past. Very nice.