Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Canongate UK (2010), 378 pages
Description
The Blue Mountain is the first novel by one of Israel's most important and acclaimed contemporary writers and as with all his writing is a virtuoso example of Shalev's skill as a storyteller. Published to outstanding reviews all over the world, its publication in Britain re-affirms his reputation as a major international writer.Set in a small rural village prior to the creation of the State of Israel, this funny and hugely imaginative book paints an extraordinary picture of a small community of Ukrainian immigrants as they succeed in pioneering a new life in a new land over three generations. The Blue Mountain transcends its time and place by touching on issues of universal relevance whilst never failing to entertain and engage the reader. As with Four Meals, the writing is lyrical and of exceptional quality and illustrates why Shalev has been steadily winning an ever-increasing number of fans worldwide.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member carioca
Now this is one great book. Hard to describe the feeling of reading this book and wishing it never ended, or that sequels were published etc etc. Completely unrealistic of me, but still. This was the first Meir Shalev I ever read, and I read it while living in a kibbutz in Israel. Being there,
Show More
10-minute drive to Nahalal (his birthplace and also the inspiration for this book), only added to my reading experience. The characters are so fully realized that I seriously thought I had run into one or another at some point. The descriptions, the Israeli flavor of it all, the underlying family sagas, it all is so appealing that I live in hope he will decide to write a new chapter in this story. In fact, it would not be a preposterous idea for him to do so - Blue Mountain is one of these rare novels that are so magic, the reader can't help but be convinced that the plot goes on and on even though he read the whole book. As in a life of its own. Show Less
LibraryThing member tobiejonzarelli
The beginning was difficult to get through, not sure if it was because of the translation, but by the end, I really enjoyed the book.
LibraryThing member edella
Breathtaking...a novel so wacky, so inventive, so peppered with tall tales and flights of magical realism, so good at blending myth and earthly human emotion that it deserves mention in the same breath with Marquez 's One Hundred Years Of Solitude."
LibraryThing member fourbears
I read this 4 or 5 years ago when a friend from Israel included it in a holiday exchange box our online bookgroup did. I loved it. One of the most genuine magical realism books. Everyone should read this book.
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
In the early 1900's, three friends from czarist Russia arrive in Palestine to collectively fall in love with one woman. These four found the Feyge Levin Workingman's Circle and proceed to live out their idealistic lives as pioneers in a collective agricultural village located in the Jezreel
Told with tenderness, humor, and just the right touch of fantasy, Meir Shalev describes the relationship between the founding fathers and the succeeding two generations as seen through the eyes of Baruch, an orphaned grandchild of one of the founding fathers.
The characters are vivid and imaginative. The descriptions of nature are enchanting. This totally absorbing story is a metaphor for how the Zionist dream has played itself out among succeeding generations.
Show More
Valley.Told with tenderness, humor, and just the right touch of fantasy, Meir Shalev describes the relationship between the founding fathers and the succeeding two generations as seen through the eyes of Baruch, an orphaned grandchild of one of the founding fathers.
The characters are vivid and imaginative. The descriptions of nature are enchanting. This totally absorbing story is a metaphor for how the Zionist dream has played itself out among succeeding generations.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Kristelh
Reason read: Israeli author, TIOLI #1
Blue Mountain was Meir Shalev's first novel. It tells the story through the narrator Baruch, granson of one of the village founders. Baruch is owner of the cemetery where he buries the pioneering generation. The pioneers are the first immigrants from Russia and
The author was born in Israel in 1948, the same year of the founding of Israel. He died in April of this year. He identified with the left and wanted a two state solution but also was aware that "Radical Palestinians still say that the only solution would be for all Jews to pack their bags and return to where their grandparents came from. When there are no more Jews left in the Middle East, then the problem is solved, according to their logic. As long as they continue to think that way, there will be no peace. We are here and we are going to stay. Only after that fact is generally accepted can progress be made."
I rated it 3 stars.
Blue Mountain was Meir Shalev's first novel. It tells the story through the narrator Baruch, granson of one of the village founders. Baruch is owner of the cemetery where he buries the pioneering generation. The pioneers are the first immigrants from Russia and
Show More
Ukraine that return back to the Land with ideas of socialism and religious fanaticism. The location is a small cooperative village in the Valley of Jezreel prior to the founding of Israel. They started to arrive in the early 1900s. There are many themes of redemption and rebirth. The characters are colorful. Other themes include the earth and nature. I enjoyed the funny stories full of magical realism but I also did not enjoy the sexual content. I did not get any strong feelings that women were treated disrespectfully. They were earthy women as were the men. Israel is a people of the earth. Nature is friend and foe, good and bad. Narture is politicized. The author was born in Israel in 1948, the same year of the founding of Israel. He died in April of this year. He identified with the left and wanted a two state solution but also was aware that "Radical Palestinians still say that the only solution would be for all Jews to pack their bags and return to where their grandparents came from. When there are no more Jews left in the Middle East, then the problem is solved, according to their logic. As long as they continue to think that way, there will be no peace. We are here and we are going to stay. Only after that fact is generally accepted can progress be made."
I rated it 3 stars.
Show Less
Language
Original language
Hebrew
Original publication date
1988
Physical description
8 inches
ISBN
1841952427 / 9781841952420